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To: The Foreign Office

Release Shafik Rehman, 81, editor held without charge in Bangladesh

The Foreign Office should be pressing the Bangladesh government to release Shafik Rehman - an 81 year old UK citizen who is being held pending investigations that he was plotting to kidnap and kill the Prime Minister's son. He is the third opposition supporting editor to be arrested in the last two years. He was arrested on April 16th and has not been granted bail.

Why is this important?

Free voices are being quashed in Bangladesh - whether it is in the press, or bloggers or lecturers. The government has shown that they they can suppress free speech without any recriminations leading others to also take the law into their own hands. Up to now no one has been arrested for the murders of bloggers yet they have arrested Shafik Rehman on the preposterous charge that he was plotting to kidnap the PM's son.

Updates

2016-06-16 13:23:24 +0100

25 signatures reached

2016-06-15 17:38:50 +0100

10 signatures reached