[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 1080 Introduced in House (IH)]







109th CONGRESS
  2d Session
H. RES. 1080

     Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the 
 Government of Bangladesh should immediately drop all pending charges 
      against Bangladeshi journalist Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           November 14, 2006

     Mr. Kirk (for himself and Mrs. Lowey) submitted the following 
   resolution; which was referred to the Committee on International 
                               Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION



     Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the 
 Government of Bangladesh should immediately drop all pending charges 
      against Bangladeshi journalist Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury.

Whereas Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury is a Bangladeshi journalist who, because of 
        his beliefs in an interfaith dialogue between Jews and Muslims and 
        criticism of Islamic extremism, is on trial for sedition, an offense 
        punishable by death;
Whereas on November 29, 2003, Mr. Choudhury was arrested at Zia International 
        Airport in Dhaka, Bangladesh, on his way to board a flight bound for Tel 
        Aviv; Mr. Choudhury's passport was seized, along with considerable sums 
        of money and several personal items; on that same day police raided Mr. 
        Choudhury's home and newspaper offices, seizing files, computers, and 
        other valuables;
Whereas Mr. Choudhury was detained in Dhaka Central Jail for a passport 
        violation, then subsequently charged with sedition; Mr. Choudhury 
        suffered harsh interrogation techniques and received no treatment for a 
        debilitating case of glaucoma; Mr. Choudhury's incarceration lasted 17 
        months without legal recourse;
Whereas on April 30, 2005, after intervention by the United States Department of 
        State and congressional offices, Mr. Choudhury was released on bail;
Whereas in the subsequent months, senior members of the Bangledeshi Government 
        made continuous public promises that there was no substance to Mr. 
        Choudhury's pending charges and that all charges would be dropped;
Whereas on September 29, 2005, Mr. Choudhury was awarded the ``Freedom to Write 
        Award'' by PEN USA;
Whereas on May 5, 2006, Mr. Choudhury was awarded the American Jewish 
        Committee's Moral Courage Award in absentia in Washington, D.C.; two 
        days prior to Mr. Choudhury receiving the award, after returning Mr. 
        Choudhury's passport and appearing to allow him to attend, senior 
        Bangladeshi Government officials issued threats to prevent him from 
        leaving the country;
Whereas on July 6, 2006, Mr. Choudhury's newspaper offices were bombed by an 
        Islamic extremist organization after Mr. Choudhury and his staff 
        published articles in support of the Ahmadiyya Muslim minority; Mr. 
        Choudhury received a tip about the bombing days before and reported it 
        to police, who refused to take action;
Whereas on September 18, 2006, a judge with alleged ties to an Islamic extremist 
        party ruled that Mr. Choudhury will stand trial for sedition; the judge 
        made this ruling despite the Public Prosecutor's testimony in court days 
        before that the government did not have evidence and would not object to 
        the charges being dropped;
Whereas on October 5, 2006, Mr. Choudhury was attacked at his newspaper offices 
        by a large group of individuals, including prominent members of the 
        ruling Bangladesh National Party; police protection for Mr. Choudhury 
        was withdrawn just days before the attack; Mr. Choudhury was called an 
        ``agent of the Jews'' and beaten badly; when Mr. Choudhury reported the 
        attack to the police, no action was taken;
Whereas members of the United States Commission on International Religious 
        Freedom visited with Mr. Choudhury on their trip to Bangladesh in 
        February and March 2006;
Whereas on October 6, 2006, the United States Commission on International 
        Religious Freedom wrote a letter to U.S. Assistant Secretary of State 
        for South and Central Asian Affairs Richard A. Boucher calling on the 
        United States Government to strengthen the ``voices of moderation'' in 
        countries like Bangladesh where the rule of law, democratic 
        institutions, and respect for human rights are under assault by violent 
        extremists; the Commission identified Mr. Choudhury as one of those 
        voices that should not be silenced;
Whereas, according to the Department of State's 2005 Country Report on Human 
        Rights Practices in Bangladesh, ``Attacks on journalists and newspapers, 
        and government efforts to intimidate them, political party activists, 
        and others, occurred frequently.''; and
Whereas moderate voices in the Muslim world must be supported and protected to 
        advance the security of the United States and its allies: Now, 
        therefore, be it
    Resolved, That it is the sense of the House of Representatives 
that--
            (1) the Government of Bangladesh should immediately drop 
        all pending charges against Bangladeshi journalist Salah Uddin 
        Shoaib Choudhury;
            (2) the Government of Bangladesh should immediately return 
        all of Mr. Choudhury's confiscated possessions; and
            (3) the Government of Bangladesh should cease harassment 
        and intimidation of Mr. Choudhury, take steps to protect Mr. 
        Choudhury, and hold accountable those responsible for attacks 
        against Mr. Choudhury.
                                 <all>