The Solid Surfer.com: Help Save Bangladeshi Journalist Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury

Tons to catch up on...where can we even start? There has been plenty of important news from the past week, but first and foremost, we can help save a life.

Anyone here heard of a Bangladeshi journalist named Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury? Mr. Choudhury has been arrested by the Bangladeshi government on charges of sedition, treason, and blasphemy, having committed the "crime" of speaking out against fundamentalist Islam and advocating peaceful relations with Jews and Christians. His trial is set for January 2007 under an Islamist judge who intends to apply capital punishment.

As outrageous as this is, however, American pressure can almost certainly convince the Bangladeshi government to dismiss the charges. Such a threat has previously convinced Bangladesh on other matters, and their economy is largely dependent on American garment purchases. To help Mr. Choudhury, read this article and visit this website.

It will take only a minute or two of your time, and you can help save a person's life. As the linked article says, "Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury has stood up for us at considerable peril; now it is up to us to stand up for him." Let's do it.

-TheSolidSurfer.com

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Update - a reader writes:

"I would like people to know that a bipartisan resolution has been introduced in the House of Representatives in support of Mr. Choudhury. It calls upon the government of Bangladesh to drop all charges against him, return his confiscated property and prosecute the individuals who attacked him. Please ask your readers to call their representatives in Congress and ask them to support House Resolution #1080. This is an urgent matter, since Congress will adjourn in another week or two at the most, and it is important that the resolution pass with a huge majority before that. The European Parliament passed a resolution in support of Mr. Choudhury last week. It's our turn."

Well, there you have it - let's call our Congressional representatives. If you don't have their contact information, you can also reach them via email through the American Jewish Committee's website (and don't worry - it's pre-formatted so you don't have to compose anything original if you don't want). Here is the direct link.

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Further Update: David Harris, executive director of the American Jewish Committee, has penned an essential article on Mr. Choudhury's situation.