MEDIA ADVISORY - CJFE to host a free panel discussion on the crisis for free expression in Bangladesh
TORONTO, June 7, 2016 /CNW/ - On Thursday, June 9, 2016, Canadian Journalists for Free Expression (CJFE) presents a free panel on the crisis of impunity for crimes against free thinkers in Bangladesh. The panel brings together experts and individuals at the forefront of the fight for justice in Bangladesh, including a Bangladeshi blogger who was forced to flee the country after threats to his life.
This year alone in Bangladesh at least nine individuals have been murdered for exercising their right to free expression. These murders are the latest in an appalling litany of attacks against members of Bangladeshi civil society. Bloggers, writers and activists are killed in their homes and in the streets by Islamist militants. Meanwhile, the Bangladeshi government's reaction has been callous and indifferent, with the Prime Minister blaming the victims for inciting their own murders by speaking out against majority opinion.
Why is this happening, and why has the Bangladeshi government failed so completely to protect citizens who profess humanist or secularist views? Most importantly, what can be done to end the violence and the impunity under which the killers operate?
Event Details: Darkness in Dhaka: Protecting Free Thought in Bangladesh
| WHO: |
RAIHAN ABIR |
Bangladeshi blogger |
| BRENDAN DE CAIRES |
Programs and Communications Coordinator, PEN Canada |
|
| WIL MCDOWALL |
Vice-Chair, Centre for Inquiry Canada |
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| WHEN: |
7:30 pm – 9:00 pm, Thursday, June 9, 2016 |
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| WHERE: |
Rogers Communications Centre, Room 103, Ryerson University |
|
| 80 Gould St, Toronto |
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| ADMISSION: |
FREE |
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| RSVP on the event page or to Megan Drysdale at [email protected] |
This public panel will be preceded by CJFE's members-only Annual General Meeting (AGM). To become a member and attend, please visit cjfe.org/membership. Memberships will also be available for purchase at the door.
Canadian Journalists for Free Expression (CJFE) monitors, defends and reports on free expression and access to information in Canada and abroad. Rooted in the field of journalism, CJFE promotes a free media as essential to a fair and open society. CJFE boldly champions the free expression rights of all people, and encourages and supports individuals and groups in the protection of their own and others' free expression rights. cjfe.org
SOURCE Canadian Journalists for Free Expression
please contact: Tom Henheffer, CJFE Executive Director, 647-992-4630, [email protected]
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