Some time ago I wrote about Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury, the editor of the Bangladeshi English-language newspaper The Weekly Blitz. Choudhury was to be tried for his life, accused of sedition, treason, espionage and blasphemy. His specific crime was that he attempted to go to Israel to give a speech on interfaith cooperation — apparently anathema in some Muslim circles.
His trial, which was supposed to take place last month, has been put off until February 28. A resolution to urge the government of Bangladesh to drop charges against him has been proposed in the US Congress — H.Res.64 (also here). US readers, please contact your representative and ask him or her to support this resolution!
More details about Choudhury can be found here.
Also, please read the comment from Rabbi Sue Levy.
Technorati Tags: Choudhury, Bangladesh
From Rabbi Sue Levy:
Shoaib Choudhury is my dear friend and spiritual brother. If space permits, you may wish to publish this letter which I sent to many people today:
Dear Friends,
Resolution 64 in the House of Representatives, supporting Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury was approved unanimously in the House Foreign Affairs Committee on Thursday, February 15th, and will now go to the House floor for a vote to pass the resolution. Shoaib is the courageous Bangladeshi journalist who is on trial for treason because he promotes interfaith understanding, writes about the dangers of radical Islam and wisher for his country to recognize the State of Israel. The resolution now has thirty-one co-sponsors about equally divided between Republicans and Democrats.
We know that the resolution will pass on the House floor, and it’s possible that it may pass unanimously there. The most important thing now is to make sure that many, many representatives will care enough to actually show up and vote. In the eyes of the Bangladeshi government there will be a big difference between a resolution passed by forty people and one passed by four-hundred people. Bangladesh is a sovereign state, and no resolution of our’s can force them to do anything. On the other hand, the people who will pass this resolution are the same ones who will vote on the next foreign aid appropriations and on future trade relations between the U.S. and Bangladesh. This fact will not be lost on the Government of Bangladesh. Numbers matter.
Shoaib’s trial will resume in exactly two weeks. We hope to see the resolution pass before that time, So, once more it is time to call your representative in Congress to ask him/her to be present to vote for House Resolution #64.
Please pick up the phone and do not rely on email. You will need to explain to a staff member how critically important it is for them to save the life of a courageous journalist right now. PLEASE let me know what response you get.
You can contact me through my website listed below.
To reach your representative click: http://www.house.gov/
At the moment, Shoaib is busy published one investigative piece after another exposing governmental corruption in his country, publishing articles about positive interactions between Jews and Muslims and protesting injustice wherever he sees it -including the arrest and torture of one of his own staff members last week- someone who went to the police station to report that he had been attacked on the street and ended up behind bars. You can read his work at http://www.weeklyblitz.net/
Please help us.
Rabbi Sue E. Levy
http://www.rabbibird.com