[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 128 (Tuesday, November 14, 2006)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2025]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   INTRODUCTION OF RESOLUTION URGING BANGLADESHI GOVERNMENT TO DROP 
                     JOURNALIST'S SEDITION CHARGES

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. MARK STEVEN KIRK

                              of illinois

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, November 14, 2006

  Mr. KIRK. Mr. Speaker, today I am introducing a resolution with 
Congresswoman Nita Lowey (D-NY) calling ``on the Government of 
Bangladesh to drop sedition charges pending against Bangladeshi 
journalist Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury. We introduce this resolution 
today to coincide with beginning of Mr. Choudhury's sedition trial. Mr. 
Choudhury faces these charges because of his belief in an interfaith 
dialogue between Jews and Muslims and articles he published critical of 
Islamic extremism. Under Bangladeshi law, sedition is a crime 
punishable by death.
  Mr. Choudhury is a journalist in Bangladesh known for his views on 
expanding dialogue between Muslims and Jews, developing ties with 
Israel, and criticizing the rise of Islamist parties in Bangladesh. Mr. 
Choudhury was detained in November 2003 at Zia International Airport in 
Dhaka, Bangladesh, on his way to board a flight bound for Tel Aviv, 
Israel, to participate in the annual Hebrew Writers Conference. Mr. 
Choudhury's passport was seized, along with considerable sums of money 
and several personal items. On that same day, police raided his home 
and newspaper, seizing files, computers, and other valuables.
  Since Bangladeshi law prohibits travel to Israel, Mr. Choudhury was 
first cited for a minor passport violation. He subsequently was charged 
with sedition, accused of espionage as an Israeli spy, and incarcerated 
for 17 months. He was subjected to harsh interrogation techniques, and 
received no treatment for a debilitating case of glaucoma.
  Despite public pledges from senior Bangladeshi government officials 
that all pending legal action against Mr. Choudhury would be dropped, 
the government pressed forward on its prosecution of Choudhury for 
sedition. Mr. Choudhury won PEN USA's ``Freedom to Write Award,'' and 
was presented with the American Jewish Committee's prestigious ``Moral 
Courage Award'' in absentia in Washington DC. Mr. Choudhury's newspaper 
offices were bombed by Islamic extremists in July, and he was attacked 
by a mob in his office on October 5. Then a judge with alleged ties to 
an Islamic extremist group ruled that Mr. Choudhury must stand trial 
for sedition.
  For his message of moderation and interfaith dialogue, Shoaib 
Choudhury is facing unjust criminal charges in an effort to silence 
him. Congress must send a clear message: we cannot allow moderate 
voices in the Muslim world to be silenced.
  The resolution I introduce today calls on the Government of 
Bangladesh to drop all charges against Shoaib Choudhury, return his 
passport and possessions, and end his harassment I want to thank 
Congresswoman Nita Lowey for being the lead co-sponsor of this 
legislation. I look forward to working with her and my other colleagues 
on this important human rights initiative.

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