In Fiji, one FFP MP and lawyer who threatened to 'mortein' his opponents like cockroaches was rewarded by Aiyaz Sayed Khaiyum - Ashneel Sudhakar was recently appointed chairman of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Justice, Law and Human Rights -
Bloodthirsty Fox Guarding Human Rights Hen House?
Avijit Roy was a vocal opponent of religious extremism
 GRAPHIC WARNING: Brutal: This image, circulated by extremists on social media, shows Dr Aijivit Roy dead on the floor in Dhaka, Bangladesh (right). Left, his wounded wife, Rafida Ahmed, stands over his body |  Home: Dr Roy and his wife, Rafida Ahmed, lived in Atlanta, Georgia, and were visiting Bangladesh when they were attacked |
Outspoken: Roy was described as a 'free thinker'
with a 'strong voice against
Islamic fanatics,' by a friend
A prominent Bangladeshi-American Hindu blogger has been hacked to death in the street by militant Muslims after denouncing religious extremism. Dr Avijit Roy, who lives in Atlanta, Georgia, and is known for his outspoken atheism, was jumped by the gang of machete-wielding assailants in Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh. An obscure militant group, Ansar Bangla 7, has claimed responsibility for the attack, which it said is in retaliation for his 'crime against Islam'.
They also said he was singled out because he is a U.S. citizen, and characterized the vicious killing as 'revenge' for attacks on ISIS in Syria. Police said at least two men attacked Roy landing three strong, deliberate blows to the right side of his head. They turned on his wife, Rafida Ahmed, when she tried to save him, then fled into the crowd. His body was found in a pool of blood on Thursday night after the brutal attack.
Ahmed, 45, is also a blogger. She is reportedly now in hospital with a deep cut to her head. Roy, who is a naturalized U.S. citizen and also a bio-engineer, had been receiving death threats online for years.
According to Bangladesh News 24, a Muslim fanatic named Farabi Shafiur Rahman posted threats on Facebook last year that Roy would be killed as soon as he returned to the country. Dr Roy and his wife were visiting the city of Dhaka for a book fair when they were set upon opposite the Dhaka University Central Mosque.
Two blood-stained cleavers were found by officers close to the scene of the murder, which took place around 8.45pm. Jubilant extremists were celebrating the attack on social media. The account for Ansar Bangla 7 made a post linking the killing to Roy's nationality - and American airstrikes on ISIS. The account posted: 'The target was an American citizen.. 2 in 1. #America recently martyred 2 of our brothers in #Khurasan & #Shaam. #Revenge+#Punishment.'
According to an autopsy report obtained by Bangladesh News 24, Roy was killed by three deep gashes, which cut through his skull to the brain. Doctors examining Roy's body said the attack had the hallmarks of professional killers, who acted with 'planning, skill and brutality'. Local news site Bangladesh News 24 reported that she had lost a finger in the attack and had a deep gash to her head. Police are yet to arrest anybody over the killing - and said on Friday that they did not yet have any leads in the brutal murder.
Roy was of a Hindu background - a religious minority in Bangladesh which which has been historically persecuted. He is also the son of a prominent secularist and human rights activist, Ajay Roy. He was a prominent voice against religious intolerance, who had been sent death threats over his writings. Roy, who was about 40 years old, and his wife were ambushed as they walked past a roadside tea stall.
Chief Sirajul Islam said said: 'Several attackers took part in the attack and at least two assailants hit them directly,' Islam said, adding that two blood-stained cleavers were found after the attack. '
Shilby Noman, Dhaka's assistant police commissioner, said: 'Nothing of note has been revealed so far. 'But we hope that we'll be able to arrest them and bring them to book so that this kind of crime does not take place again.'
Roy was often threatened over his writings, which appeared online, in newspapers and in several published books. According to Bangladesh News 24, a Muslim fanatic named Farabi Shafiur Rahman posted threats on Facebook last year that Roy would be killed as soon as he returned to the country.
He is said to have written: 'Avijit Roy lives in America. So it's not possible to kill him now. He will be killed as soon as he returns home.'
In a later post, he is said to have continued: 'It’s now time to openly kill those atheists who will make obscene comments against Allah and His Messenger, giving them slow, painful death... In Bangladesh, either we Muslims will survive or the atheists will.'
The Guardian reported that he was arrested for the comments - but it is unclear whether or how soon he was released. Roy was the founder of a popular Bengali-language blog - Mukto-mona, or Free Mind - in which articles on scientific reasoning and religious extremism featured prominently. On its pages, Roy had recently published a defense of atheism, writing in January that it was 'a rational concept to oppose any unscientific and irrational belief.'
The website was shut down in the wake of the attack and now displays a message in Bengali, which reportedly reads: 'We are in mourning, but not vanquished'. Roy has also written several books - two of which had been launched earlier in the book fair he was visiting.
Roy's father, retired professor and secular activist Ajay Roy, called for harsh punishment of his son's killers, and said their actions were a sign of Bangladesh's decline. He told reporters: 'The Bangladesh that was earned by the blood-sacrifice of the martyrs has now turned into a den of militants. 'I demand that the government immediately stops militant activities, brings them to book and ensures exemplary punishment.' Hundreds of students and activists gathered in Dhaka today to mourn Mr Roy's death and protest against the intimidation and murder of secular writers.
Death threats against atheist writers and bloggers are nothing new in Bangladesh. Prominent writer Taslima Nasreen had to leave Bangladesh after she received death threats from hard-line Islamists in the mid-1990s. She wrote on her blog: "Avijit Roy has been killed the way other free thinker writers were killed in Bangladesh. No free thinker is safe in Bangladesh. "Islamic terrorists can do whatever they like. They can kill people with no qualms whatsoever."
International condemnation was also mounting over the murder. Representatives of the European Union in Dhaka said: 'The Delegation of the European Union to Bangladesh condemns the brutal assault and killing of blogger Avijit Roy and wounding of his wife last night in Dhaka.
'The EU reiterates its strong attachment to freedom of expression which constitutes an essential element of a democratic society and calls for a prompt investigation to bring perpetrators to justice.'
Meanwhile Robert Gibson, the British High Commissioner to Bangladesh, said on Twitter he was: 'Shocked by the savage murder of #AvijitRoy as I am by all the #violence that has taken place in #Bangladesh in recent months'.
Similar attacks have taken place before in Bangladesh, a Muslim-majority nation of 160 million people ruled by secular laws. Investigators have said religious fanatics were behind those attacks.
They also said he was singled out because he is a U.S. citizen, and characterized the vicious killing as 'revenge' for attacks on ISIS in Syria. Police said at least two men attacked Roy landing three strong, deliberate blows to the right side of his head. They turned on his wife, Rafida Ahmed, when she tried to save him, then fled into the crowd. His body was found in a pool of blood on Thursday night after the brutal attack.
Ahmed, 45, is also a blogger. She is reportedly now in hospital with a deep cut to her head. Roy, who is a naturalized U.S. citizen and also a bio-engineer, had been receiving death threats online for years.
According to Bangladesh News 24, a Muslim fanatic named Farabi Shafiur Rahman posted threats on Facebook last year that Roy would be killed as soon as he returned to the country. Dr Roy and his wife were visiting the city of Dhaka for a book fair when they were set upon opposite the Dhaka University Central Mosque.
Two blood-stained cleavers were found by officers close to the scene of the murder, which took place around 8.45pm. Jubilant extremists were celebrating the attack on social media. The account for Ansar Bangla 7 made a post linking the killing to Roy's nationality - and American airstrikes on ISIS. The account posted: 'The target was an American citizen.. 2 in 1. #America recently martyred 2 of our brothers in #Khurasan & #Shaam. #Revenge+#Punishment.'
According to an autopsy report obtained by Bangladesh News 24, Roy was killed by three deep gashes, which cut through his skull to the brain. Doctors examining Roy's body said the attack had the hallmarks of professional killers, who acted with 'planning, skill and brutality'. Local news site Bangladesh News 24 reported that she had lost a finger in the attack and had a deep gash to her head. Police are yet to arrest anybody over the killing - and said on Friday that they did not yet have any leads in the brutal murder.
Roy was of a Hindu background - a religious minority in Bangladesh which which has been historically persecuted. He is also the son of a prominent secularist and human rights activist, Ajay Roy. He was a prominent voice against religious intolerance, who had been sent death threats over his writings. Roy, who was about 40 years old, and his wife were ambushed as they walked past a roadside tea stall.
Chief Sirajul Islam said said: 'Several attackers took part in the attack and at least two assailants hit them directly,' Islam said, adding that two blood-stained cleavers were found after the attack. '
Shilby Noman, Dhaka's assistant police commissioner, said: 'Nothing of note has been revealed so far. 'But we hope that we'll be able to arrest them and bring them to book so that this kind of crime does not take place again.'
Roy was often threatened over his writings, which appeared online, in newspapers and in several published books. According to Bangladesh News 24, a Muslim fanatic named Farabi Shafiur Rahman posted threats on Facebook last year that Roy would be killed as soon as he returned to the country.
He is said to have written: 'Avijit Roy lives in America. So it's not possible to kill him now. He will be killed as soon as he returns home.'
In a later post, he is said to have continued: 'It’s now time to openly kill those atheists who will make obscene comments against Allah and His Messenger, giving them slow, painful death... In Bangladesh, either we Muslims will survive or the atheists will.'
The Guardian reported that he was arrested for the comments - but it is unclear whether or how soon he was released. Roy was the founder of a popular Bengali-language blog - Mukto-mona, or Free Mind - in which articles on scientific reasoning and religious extremism featured prominently. On its pages, Roy had recently published a defense of atheism, writing in January that it was 'a rational concept to oppose any unscientific and irrational belief.'
The website was shut down in the wake of the attack and now displays a message in Bengali, which reportedly reads: 'We are in mourning, but not vanquished'. Roy has also written several books - two of which had been launched earlier in the book fair he was visiting.
Roy's father, retired professor and secular activist Ajay Roy, called for harsh punishment of his son's killers, and said their actions were a sign of Bangladesh's decline. He told reporters: 'The Bangladesh that was earned by the blood-sacrifice of the martyrs has now turned into a den of militants. 'I demand that the government immediately stops militant activities, brings them to book and ensures exemplary punishment.' Hundreds of students and activists gathered in Dhaka today to mourn Mr Roy's death and protest against the intimidation and murder of secular writers.
Death threats against atheist writers and bloggers are nothing new in Bangladesh. Prominent writer Taslima Nasreen had to leave Bangladesh after she received death threats from hard-line Islamists in the mid-1990s. She wrote on her blog: "Avijit Roy has been killed the way other free thinker writers were killed in Bangladesh. No free thinker is safe in Bangladesh. "Islamic terrorists can do whatever they like. They can kill people with no qualms whatsoever."
International condemnation was also mounting over the murder. Representatives of the European Union in Dhaka said: 'The Delegation of the European Union to Bangladesh condemns the brutal assault and killing of blogger Avijit Roy and wounding of his wife last night in Dhaka.
'The EU reiterates its strong attachment to freedom of expression which constitutes an essential element of a democratic society and calls for a prompt investigation to bring perpetrators to justice.'
Meanwhile Robert Gibson, the British High Commissioner to Bangladesh, said on Twitter he was: 'Shocked by the savage murder of #AvijitRoy as I am by all the #violence that has taken place in #Bangladesh in recent months'.
Similar attacks have taken place before in Bangladesh, a Muslim-majority nation of 160 million people ruled by secular laws. Investigators have said religious fanatics were behind those attacks.
 Grief: Dr Roy's father, retired professor and activist Ajay Roy, called for his killers to be punished on Friday |  Torches raised: This crowd of women marched through Dhaka Friday night in Bangladesh in protest |
 Outrage: Bangladeshi students and social activist have taken to the streets to protest against the killing |  Marchers: Bangladeshi social activists shout slogans and march through the streets in the wake of the attack |
Farabi Shafiur Rahman (below) posted threats on Facebook last year that Roy would be killed as soon as he returned to the country - Rahman was taken into custody after the online comments - but it is unclear what happened to him next: 'Avijit Roy lives in America. So it's not possible to kill him now. He will be killed as soon as he returns home.'
And just look at some of his fan club before the September election:
"When men and women of conscience and courage stand up and speak the truth the thugs - religious, political, ideological - get offended and outraged and bring out the lynch mob." - A Fijileaks Commentator
Devout Hindus or Bloodthirsty Lynch Mob?
WARNING GRAPHIC CONTENT: An unidentified assassin shot dead former deputy Prime Minister Boris Nemtsov (right), firing four times while he was walking with a woman across a bridge. He was shot in the back just metres from the Kremlin shortly after midnight local time. President Putin condemned the murder and said it may have been a contract killing, according to Russian news agencies. His spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the shooting could also be a 'provocation' as the opposition has planned a big protest in Moscow on Sunday. Nemtsov, 55, was the first deputy prime minister of the late President Boris Yeltsin during the 1990s. He had publicly expressed concerns for his life earlier this month and was outspoken in his opposition to Putin.
