Islamic groups demand Nasreen return for trial<\/p>\n
DHAKA (Reuter): Radical Moslem groups demanded yesterday that
\nthe Bangladesh government bring feminist writer Taslim Nasreen
\nback from her Swedish sanctuary and vowed to continue their
\nstreet protests calling for her death.<\/p>\n
\"I ask the government to immediately bring her home and punish
\nher for committing an unforgivable crime against Islam and its
\nfollowers,\" said Moulana Matiur Rahman Nizami, deputy chief of
\nthe Jamaat-e-Islami party.<\/p>\n
Nasreen, 32, arrived secretly in Stockholm on Tuesday from
\nBangladesh, escaping death threats which had forced the
\nphysician-turned-author into hiding for two months.<\/p>\n
She briefly emerged from hiding last week to be present in a
\nDhaka court when granted bail on charges of hurting Moslem
\nreligious feelings.<\/p>\n
\"The government had conspired to let her go, and it's the
\nresponsibility of the government to ensure her return to face the
\ncharges against her,\" Nizami said in a statement.<\/p>\n
\"If anyone had thought that we shall go off the streets and
\nrest after the murtad (apostate) Nasreen fled away, he is living
\nin a fool's paradise,\" said one leader of the Islamic United
\nAction Committee.<\/p>\n
\"There can be no let-up in the campaign until and unless the
\nagent of Satan is appropriately punished,\" the Islamic United
\nAction Committee leader told Reuters.<\/p>\n
\"If she continues to use her vulgar tongue and pen against
\nIslam while in freedom, the government of Bangladesh will have to
\nbear the responsibility for it,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Prayers<\/p>\n
Nearly 500 Moslems from two small militant organizations
\ndemonstrated following noon prayers in Dhaka yesterday, calling
\nfor Nasreen to be hanged.<\/p>\n
Witnesses said the protesters paraded through the streets near
\nDhaka's Baitul Mokarram mosque and dispersed peacefully shortly
\nafterwards.<\/p>\n
Police continued yesterday a tight watch on the Swedish
\nembassy and diplomatic missions of other countries that supported
\nNasreen, who went into hiding in Sweden immediately after
\narrival, saying she wanted to rest and work.<\/p>\n
The Bangladesh government has said there was no legal
\nrestriction on her leaving the country under her bail conditions.<\/p>\n
Nasreen had been in hiding since June 4 after the government
\nordered her arrest for insulting Moslem religious feelings by
\ntelling India's Statesman newspaper that Islam's holy book, the
\nKoran, should be \"revised thoroughly\".<\/p>\n
Nasreen later said she was misquoted but the newspaper stood
\nby its report.<\/p>\n
Information Minister Nazmul Huda said in comments reported in
\nthe Inquilab newspaper yesterday that a case against Nasreen on
\ncharges of hurting Islamic feelings was still pending at a Dhaka
\nMagistrate's court.<\/p>\n
\"(But) if someone does not appear in court personally, then
\nthe defense may not be as strong. In that case she may be
\nconvicted,\" he was quoted as saying.<\/p>\n
\"Once convicted, she will probably have to go straight into
\ncustody when she returns,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Huda said some fundamentalist groups were trying to gain
\npolitically from the Nasreen controversy. \"The government will
\ntake all measures, by using its own mechanism, to control the
\nsituation,\" he said.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/islamic-groups-demand-nasreen-return-for-trial-1447893297",
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