Swedish embassy rejected murdered Bangladesh secular blogger's visa

The Swedish embassy in Dhaka is being criticised for its decision to not allow secular blogger Ananta Bijoy Das a visa to visit their country.

Das had been invited by the Swedish branch of PEN International for a two week set of talks dealing with freedom of expression.

However the embassy had refused him a visa, because they were worried that he would not go home after the two weeks was up.

"You belong to a category of applicants where there is always a risk involved when granting a visa that you will not leave Schengen area after the visit. Furthermore, the purpose of your trip is not urgent enough to grant you visa,” the embassy said in rejecting his application.

Swedish PEN is now demanding an explanation from the embassy.

"Swedish PEN therefore demands a detailed and credible explanation of why the Swedish Embassy in Dhaka chose not to grant Ananta Bioy Dash the visa he needed to fulfill the Swedish PEN’s invitation to speak in Stockholm –  a invitation that would have guaranteed his stay in Stockholm as Swedish PEN’s guest for two weeks upon his arrival, that was supposed to happen last weekend, and which could have ensured that he would still be here with us today," the organisation said according to a translation on Butterflies and Wheels.

The International Humanist and Ethics Union has similarly expressed outrage, saying "Ananta had been on a list of atheist bloggers produced by Islamist political parties in 2013. They demanded a death penalty for ‘blasphemy’, and since then several writers on the list have been murdered, always by machete attack. Ananta was also named on a new hit list in March [Bangla] in connection with a group called Ansarullah Bangla Team."

Das had written prior to his murder that “It seems to me I am one of the targets . I am not sure how long I will hide myself. But I am sure If they will find me they will do what they did with Mr. Avijit Roy. My life is seriously unsecured. I am not sure how can I protect myself & my family.”

Das' murder is the third blogger hacked to death by machete wielding Islamists since February when Bangladeshi-born US citizen Avijit Roy was hacked to death in the capital Dhaka.

Blogger Md Washiqur Rahman Babu was hacked to death on March 30 this year, in Tejgaon, Dhaka, his murderers claiming it was their "Islamic duty".

The murders have sparked protests in Bangladesh according to AFP, with scores of student activists claiming that the government has failed to protect free thinkers.

"Murder won't silence our mouths," the protesters chanted as they marched along a key highway and through Sylhet university, a secular bastion.

"We want justice for Ananta and the other bloggers who have been murdered by Islamist militants. The government must crush this evil force," Debashish Debu, a secular activist who joined the protest, told AFP.