Feminist Nasrin surrenders in Dhaka, court grants bail
Feminist Nasrin surrenders in Dhaka, court grants bail
DHAKA (AFP): Fugitive feminist writer Taslima Nasrin yesterday ended two months in hiding, surrendering before a tightly-guarded superior court where she was immediately granted bail.
She was sheltered by a western diplomat while in hiding and has sought asylum in the United States, a diplomatic source said.
Accompanied her lawyers, the 32-year-old doctor-turned writer showed up at the High Court in Dhaka as hundreds of police in riot gear fought back a crowd trying to catch a glimpse of her outside.
Immediately after bail was granted, Nasrin, escorted by her chief lawyer, Amirul Islam, was whisked away in a private car, witnesses said. Her destination was not immediately known.
Nasrin has been charged in absentia with offending the religious feelings of Moslems for making alleged remarks about the Koran, which she denies.
Moslem fundamentalists accuse her of blasphemy. Thirteen Islamic and rightwing extremist parties called a rally in Dhaka last Friday, drawing 200,000 people, to demand her capture and hanging.
Nasrin went into hiding on June 4, when an arrest warrant was issued against her after an Indian publication quoted her as saying the Koran, Islam's holy book, should be partly revised and brought up to date. She has denied making any such remarks.
The surge of fundamentalism has triggered a sharp response from secular groups in Bangladesh, who clashed with Islamic radicals in Chittagong last Saturday and organized a half-day nationwide general strike.
Speculation
The United States and Western Europe, as well as the human rights group Amnesty International, have spoken out publicly in favor of Nasrin, triggering speculation that she may leave the country and gain asylum abroad.
The judges, A.T.M. Sadeq and K.M. Hasan, earlier yesterday declined a bail application on her behalf by one of Bangladesh's top lawyers, Kamal Hossain, who argued that she should be granted bail in absentia in view of the threat to her life.
The court insisted that Nasrin appear in person before the application could be heard.
Shortly afterwards, at around midday (0600 GMT), she entered the first floor court room escorted by lawyer Amirul Islam and several other people, and applied for bail in person.
Lawyers present in court said Nasrin told the court she had not been able to surrender before because of the threat to her life.
She said she had decided to give herself up after the situation had improved and after taking advice from her lawyers.
Government Attorney General Aminul Haq neither opposed nor supported the bail petition, saying it was up to the court to grant bail to the accused.
After listening to both sides during the hour-long hearing, the judges granted her bail to appear before the magistrates' court "either in person or through her lawyers."
The judges also directed the magistrates' court -- which issued the arrest warrant against her and which is due to hear preliminary proceedings in the case Thursday -- to grant Nasrin bail of 5,000 taka (US$125) with two local guarantors.