On September 2nd, Marietje Schaake and Sophie in ‘t Veld (D66/ALDE) submitted to Vice-President / High Representative of Foreign Affairs, Federica Mogherini, Parliamentary Written Questions on the murdered atheist bloggers in Bangladesh.
Authors: Marietje Schaake, Sophie in ‘t Veld
Subject: Atheist bloggers murdered in Bangladesh
On August 7, Mr Niloy Chakrabarti, a well-known secular blogger, was hacked to death with machetes in his apartment in Dhaka. He is the fourth blogger to have been killed in Bangladesh since February. In May, Chakrabarti said he was scared that he would be killed, but that his complaints were not taken seriously by the police. In the previous murder cases, police forces have been accused of inaction as well.
The attacks have been linked with local militant group Ansarullah Bangla Team, an al-Qaida affiliated group. Just this month police in Bangladesh have charged five suspected extremists with the murder of Washiqur Rahman –one of the other three murdered bloggers. These are the first charges in any of the four murders this year.
1. What action has the VP/HR taken to address the brutal murder of the four bloggers in Bangladesh, and what action will the VP/HR take to address the continuing violence against atheists in the country?
2. Which instructions are provided by the recently adopted EU Action Plan on Human Rights and Democracy, for the protection of atheists, apostates and those who change religion or belief?
3. What definition of ”religion and belief” does the VP/HR apply, and are atheism, apostasy and change of religion or belief included in that definition?
