CONTACT: Richard L. Benkin, Ph.D.; +1-847-922-6426;
drrbenkin@comcast.net ; http://www.InterfaithStrength.com
Dhaka, Bangladesh-Bangladeshi journalist Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury has been invited to address the Human Rights Congress for Bangladesh Minorities in the Rayburn House Office Building in Washington, DC on July 31. Despite being charged with capital offenses of sedition, treason, and blasphemy, the anti-Islamist Muslim intends to arrive in the United States on Monday, July 30, remaining until Sunday, August 5.
Mr. Choudhury was arrested in 2003 by government agents as he was about to board a plane for a speech in Israel. The arrest was carried out in cooperation with Islamist forces because of his advocacy of relations with Israel and interfaith understanding based on religious equality, and his articles exposing the rise of radical Islam in Bangladesh. He was tortured and held for seventeen months and only released after strong pressure by Congressman Mark Kirk (R-IL) and human rights activist Dr. Richard L. Benkin, who leads the fight for Mr. Choudhury worldwide. The government has thus far reneged on its promise (made multiple times) to drop the admittedly false charges. In March, the US Congress passed a resolution 409-1, urging the Bangladeshis to make good on that promise after extensive evidence confirmed the charges to be false and contrary to Bangladeshi law. Bangladeshi officials admit they are maintained only to appease Islamists.
In 2006, Mr. Choudhury tried to visit the US to receive the American Jewish Committee’s Moral Courage Award, but the Bangladesh government prevented him at the last minute.
For further information or to interview Mr. Choudhury or Dr. Benkin, contact Richard Benkin at the telephone or email above.