International PEN’s Writers in Committee is seriously concerned for the safety of Bangladeshi writer Taslima Nasrin, who is in a government safe house following violent protests by Muslim extremists in Kolkata, West Bengal. PEN welcomes the efforts by the Indian authorities to provide her protection, and urges the Indian authorities to ensure her safe passage and return to her home in Kolkata, West Bengal, at the earliest opportunity.
Controversial Bangladeshi feminist writer Taslima Nasrin is currently in a government safe house in Delhi after violent protests broke out by Muslim extremists in Kolkata, West Bengal, on 21 November 2007, where Ms Nasrin is now living in exile. Ms Nasrin had flown from Calcutta to the western Indian city of Jaipur on 22 November, but she has now been transported to the Indian capital, Delhi, for her safety. According to reports, police in Kolkata used tear gas and baton charges to control crowds calling for her Indian visa to be cancelled. Rioters blocked roads and set cars alight, and at least 43 people were hurt. More than 100 arrests were made. The protests are believed to have been organised by the predominantly Muslim All-India Minority Forum, who say that Taslima Nasrin has "seriously hurt Muslim sentiments" in her writings and are calling for her Indian visa to be revoked. In August this year, she was attacked in the southern city of Hyderabad during a lecture by Muslims upset by her remarks on the Prophet Muhammed and the Koran.
Novelist, poet and journalist Taslima Nasrin was publicly condemned to death in Bangladesh for ‘blasphemy’ and a reward given for her execution on 16 September 1993 by members of an armed militant Muslim group, due to her novel Lajja (Shame). Instead of condemning the calls for Nasrin’s murder, the Bangladesh authorities charged Nasrin, on 4 June 1994, with ‘deliberate and malicious intention of hurting the religious sentiments’ for an interview given to an Indian newspaper. Nasrin fled to Europe on 10 August 1994 and has since lived abroad. Her trial started in Dhaka on 10 December 1994 in absentia, and has remained pending hearing for several years. Her latest novels continue to be banned by the Bangladeshi authorities on the strength of their allegedly ‘anti-Islamic’ content. More than ten years since she fled Bangladesh, Nasrin still cannot return without fear for her security, and for the past three years she has lived in Kolkata, West Bengal, and has applied for Indian citizenship. Her current visa reportedly expires in March 2008.
RECOMMENDED ACTION
Please send appeals:
* Expressing serious concern for the safety of Bangladeshi writer Taslima Nasrin, and welcoming the efforts by the Indian authorities to provide her protection;
* Urging the Indian authorities to ensure her safe passage and return to her home in Kolkata, West Bengal, at the earliest opportunity.
Appeals to:
Shri Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee
Honorable Chief Minister of West Bengal
Writers Building Kolkata.
India.
Fax: +033- 22145480
Please copy appeals to the diplomatic representative for India in your country if possible.
Centres are encouraged to elect Taslima Nasrin for Honorary Membership.
Messages of support can be sent to: taslima.nasrin@gmail.com
For more information on Taslima Nasrin click on the following links: http://taslimanasrin.com http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/7108880.stm
**Please contact this office if sending appeals after 31 December 2007
** For further information please contact Cathy McCann at International PEN Writers in Prison Committee, Brownlow House, 50/51 High Holborn, London WC1V 6ER, Tel.+ 44 (0) 20 7405 0338, Fax: +44 (0) 20 7405 0339, email: cathy.mccann@internationalpen.org.uk
Cathy McCann Researcher, Asia/Middle East International PEN Writers in Prison Committee Brownlow House 50-51 High Holborn London WC1V 6ER. Tel.+44 (0)20 7405 0338 Fax: +44 (0)20 7405 0339 www.internationalpen.org.uk
