Asia Bibi is a Christian mother of five who was living as a farm worker in Pakistan. In 2010, Bibi was alleged to have made blasphemous remarks following a disagreement with a Muslim coworker who refused to drink from a container of water she carried, believing it was tainted. In November 2010, Bibi was convicted of blasphemy and became the first woman to be sentenced to death in Pakistan for that crime. She remains in jail while her case is being appealed.

Several prominent Pakistani politicians have been assassinated for criticizing blasphemy laws and supporting her freedom, including Salmaan Taseer, the former Governor of Punjab, and Shahbaz Bhatti, the former Minister for Minority Affairs.

News

This section will be updated as news develops on this case.

• Pakistani Christian Jailed for Blasphemy Over Facebook Like – September 23, 2016
• UN Committee Insists on Revocation of Pakistan’s Blasphemy Laws – September 16, 2016
• Oppression of Pakistani Christians – May 20, 2016
• Why I Despair Over Pakistan’s Intractable Blasphemy Laws – April 1, 2016
• Pakistan’s Top Court Upholds Death Sentence in Blasphemy Murder Case – October 8, 2015

Washiqur Rahman was a travel executive and blogger who published under various pseudonyms, focusing on promoting rationalism and exposing fundamentalism.

In March 2015, Rahman was on his way to work when he was attacked and killed by a group of men of men with machetes.

News

This section will be updated as news develops on this case.

• CFI’s Michael De Dora Delivers Statement at UN Human Rights Council on Crisis in Bangladesh – June 24, 2016
• These Bangladeshi Bloggers Were Murdered by Islamist Extremists. Here Are Some of Their Writings. – April 29, 2016
• CFI Leads Coalition Effort to Urge State Department Engagement With Bangladesh Government – April 22, 2016
• Couple Finds Sanctuary in Canada to Escape Killings of Writers in Bangladesh – February 12, 2016
• The Islamist War on Secular Bloggers in Bangladesh – December 14, 2015
• A Secular Publisher Is the Latest Bangladeshi Killed By Suspected Islamist Radicals – November 6, 2015

Dr. Avijit Roy was a Bangladeshi-American human rights activist and blogger known for his work defending freedom of thought and critical thinking.  

In 2001, Roy founded a forum for Bengali freethinkers called Mukto-Mona.  Roy’s mission for Mukto-Mona was “to build a society which will not be bound by the dictates of arbitrary authority, comfortable superstition, stifling tradition, or suffocating orthodoxy but would rather be based on reason, compassion, humanity, equality and science.”  Within a few years of its formation, Mukto-Mona grew from a simply forum to a website featuring articles from Bengali, and even non-Bengali, activists and academics (more here).

In April 2013, in response to the Bangladeshi government arresting four atheist bloggers, Roy coordinated with Michael De Dora of the Center for Inquiry to organize worldwide protests for freedom of expression. 

In February 2015, Roy revisited Bangledesh with his wife for the Ekushey Book Fair in Dhaka. They were attacked but extremists armed with machetes; Roy died, and his wife barely survived.

Roy was the author of eight books. He also wrote articles for the Center for Inquiry’s magazine Free Inquiry. His last article, titled “The Virus of Faith,” can be accessed here.

In addition, Roy had earned a PhD in biomedical engineering from the National University of Singapore.

News

This section will be updated as news develops on this case.

• CFI’s Michael De Dora Delivers Statement at UN Human Rights Council on Crisis in Bangladesh – June 24, 2016
• These Bangladeshi Bloggers Were Murdered by Islamist Extremists. Here Are Some of Their Writings. – April 29, 2016
• CFI Leads Coalition Effort to Urge State Department Engagement With Bangladesh Government – April 22, 2016
• Avijit Roy’s Books Dropped from Bangladesh Book Fair; Police Shut Down Vendor – February 19, 2016
• Couple Finds Sanctuary in Canada to Escape Killings of Writers in Bangladesh – February 12, 2016
• The Islamist War on Secular Bloggers in Bangladesh – December 14, 2015
• A Secular Publisher Is the Latest Bangladeshi Killed By Suspected Islamist Radicals – November 6, 2015
• Publisher of Secularist Books Murdered in Bangladesh: Center for Inquiry Demands Action – October 31, 2015
• Worldwide Protests for Free Expression in Bangladesh – September 29, 2015

Niloy Chakraborty Neeloy, also known by his pen name Niloy Neel, was an organizer for the Science and Rationalist Association of Bangladesh. He wrote for various platforms, including the Bengali freethinkers blog Mukto-Mona.

In August 2015, Neel was at home with his wife when extremists snuck into his home and killed him, in his wife’s presence.

Neel had earned a master’s degree in philosophy from Dhaka University.

News

This section will be updated as news develops on this case.

• CFI’s Michael De Dora Delivers Statement at UN Human Rights Council on Crisis in Bangladesh – June 24, 2016
• These Bangladeshi Bloggers Were Murdered by Islamist Extremists. Here Are Some of Their Writings. – April 29, 2016
• CFI Leads Coalition Effort to Urge State Department Engagement With Bangladesh Government – April 22, 2016
• Couple Finds Sanctuary in Canada to Escape Killings of Writers in Bangladesh – February 12, 2016
• The Islamist War on Secular Bloggers in Bangladesh – December 14, 2015
• A Secular Publisher Is the Latest Bangladeshi Killed By Suspected Islamist Radicals – November 6, 2015

Indian-born Sanal Edamaruku is founder and president of Rationalist International, president of the Indian Rationalist Association, and author of several newsletters and books. Edamaruku gained attention in April 2012, when he exposed a supposed “miracle” at a Catholic Church by revealing that a weeping cross was actually the result of a leaky drain.

Upset with Edamaruku’s actions, the Church filed a complaint under Section 295 of the country’s penal code, which prohibits the hurting of religious sentiments. Local police have requested that Edamaruku turn himself in and face the charges. Edamaruku has rejected their request and to avoid arrest has been living in exile in Finland. He has also been traveling throughout Europe to speak about his case.

News

This section will be updated as news develops on this case.

Alber Saber, 28, is a prominent Egypt-born activist who was arrested during the 2012 protests in Cairo over a film made in the United States that depicted the Islamic prophet Muhammad in a negative light. Saber, raised in a Coptic Christian household, is an atheist who operated the Egyptian Atheists page on Facebook and has been a vocal proponent of secular government and critic of fundamentalism.

On September 14, 2012, a crowd of hundreds formed outside of Saber’s home chanting “Allahu Akbar” and demanding that Saber be arrested for allegedly posting a link to the film, along with other crimes such as insulting religion. When the police arrived, they arrested Saber and put him in jail. Saber was reportedly beaten after a prison guard announced his charges to others in Saber’s cell.

On December 12, 2012, a court sentenced Saber to three years in prison. Upon being released on bail, Saber was able to escape Egypt. He currently resides in Europe.

News

This section will be updated as news develops on this case.

• Blasphemy Cases Rise in Egypt and Christians Bear the Brunt – March 25, 2016

Pussy Riot is a Russian feminist band that plays punk rock and protest music and stages public performances. The group came to notoriety in February 2012, when three of the band’s twelve members shot a music video at Moscow’s Cathedral of Christ the Saviour called “Punk Prayer: Mother of God, Chase Putin Away!”

Weeks later, under pressure from church officials, police arrested and charged Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, Maria Alyokhina, and Yekaterina Samutsevich with hooliganism motivated by religious hatred. In August, the three were convicted, and sentenced to two years of imprisonment. The decision was widely condemned.

In November 2013 a court in Moscow released one of the jailed band members, but confirmed the sentences of the other two. However, the other two jailed members were finally released in December 2013.

News

This section will be updated as news develops on this case.

• Russian Faces Up to Year in Prison for Denying Existence of God – March 2, 2016
• LGBT Activist Found Guilty of Violating Russia’s “Gay Propaganda” Law – February 3, 2016

Alexander Aan, 30, is a former Indonesian civil servant who in January 2012 posted messages to Facebook expressing his lack of belief in a god, as well as several cartoons about the Islamic prophet Muhammad.

As a result, Aan was attacked at his workplace by an angry mob. When police arrived, they arrested Aan and charged him with blasphemy, promoting atheism, lying on an official government document (Indonesia requires its citizens to claim one of six official religions; Aan marked Islam), and disseminating information aimed at inciting religious hatred or hostility.

On June 15, 2012, a district court found Aan guilty of incitement and sentenced him to two years and six months in prison. He was also fined 100 million rupiah (US $10,600). The Center for Inquiry, Atheist Alliance International, Amnesty International, and several other groups formally condemned Aan’s sentencing and worked to secure his freedom.

On January 27, 2014, Aan was released after serving 18 months of his sentence. However, Aan is required to report regularly and frequently to Indonesian authorities, and is vulnerable to vigilante violence.

News

This section will be updated as news develops on this case.