Stand Up Against Political Violence

Ganotantry Party President and labor rights leader, Nurul Islam, and his son Islam Tamohar died in a suspicious fire days before the election in December 2008. Shortly afterwards, political leaders and activists rallied to demand a thorough investigation and call for justice. However, a year on, the circumstances behind the suspicious deaths remain unresolved, political support is waning and the investigation has been slow.

This is by no means new in Bangladesh. There are numerous instances of attacks against political leaders (like Shah AMS Kibria, Ahsanullah Master, Monzurul Ahsan and Ivy Rahman), cultural activists (Romna Botomul bomb blast in 2001), intellectuals (Principal Gopal Krishna Muhuri, Dr Muntasir Mamun, Dr Humayun Azad) and journalists (Saleem Samad, Manik Chandra Saha, Dipanker Chakrabarty). Subsequent administrations have failed to carry out a proper investigation, make investigation reports public and bring the perpetrators to justice.

We condemn political violence and mourn all the lives lost. The recent trial of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman's killers give us hope that justice can be attained.

We urge concerned citizens to sign this petition and join forces to demand an independent and transparent investigation for the political killings in Bangladesh.