Christian Pastor in Bangladesh Survives Murder Attempt

By Christine Khamis

Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

 

DHAKA, Bangladesh—

A Baptist pastor survived a murder attempt on Monday, after he invited three men who expressed interest in religion into his home.

Reverend Luke Sarker, the pastor of Faith Bible Church in Pabna, a district in northwest Bangladesh, is a Bangladeshi that recently converted to Christianity. In September, he met with two men to discuss religion and their interest in converting to Christianity.

The men then requested a second meeting with Reverend Sarker for Monday and came to his home along with a third man. During their meeting with Reverend Sarker, his wife left the room. The three men then attacked him Reverend Sarker and attempted to slit his throat with a knife. When Reverend Sarker cried out for help, his wife and neighbors rushed to his aid. His attackers then fled and police later found a motorbike near the home. Reverend Sarker’s wounds from the knife attack were not serious.

Police have arrested a member of Islami Chhatra Shibir, which is the student wing of Jamaat-e-Islami, a political party that opposes Bangladesh’s current government. The member, Obaidul Islam, was detained for questioning after police raided his home in Pabna. According to a local police chief, Rezaul Karim, police also arrested a local businessman and an activist for the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, another opposing political party and a key ally of Jamaat-e-Islami.

This attack comes after last week’s murders of two foreigners living in Bangladesh. One, an Italian aid worker employed in Dhaka, and the other, a Japanese famrer residing in northern Bangladesh, were shot to death. According to the SITE Intelligence Group, which monitors the websites of radical Islamic groups, the Islamic State declared responsibility for their deaths. There has been no independent confirmation that the Islamic State was responsible for the killings.

The Bangladesh government, led by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, has rejected the Islamic State’s claim and has instead blamed the attacks on the Bangladesh Nationalist Party and Jamaat-e-Islami. The Bangladesh government believes that through the attacks, the opposition groups are attempting to destabilize the country. The Bangladesh Nationalist Party denied involvement in the attacks.

Bangladesh’s Prime Minister, Sheikh Hasina. (Photo courtesy of HNGN)

There have also recently been a series of attacks against secular bloggers in Bangladesh, whose population is predominantly Muslim. This year, four secular bloggers were hacked to death. Extremist Islamic groups are believed to be behind the attacks.

 

For more information, please see:

Headlines and Global News (HNGN) – Christian Pastor Escapes Murder Attempt in Northwest Bangladesh, Police Arrest Suspect – 7 October 2015

Associated Press – Christian Pastor Survives Knife Attack at Home in Bangladesh – 6 October 2015

BBC – Bangladesh Pastor Survives Knife Attack – 6 October 2015

New York Times – Baptist Pastor in Bangladesh Survives Knife Attack – 6 October 2015

 

 

 

 

 

Syria Deeply: Russia Is Intensifying the Syria Conflict

WEEKLY UPDATE
October 9, 2015
Dear Readers,

Welcome to the weekly Syria Deeply newsletter. We’ve rounded up the most important stories and developments about Syria and the Syrians in order to bring you valuable news and analysis.

Russia Is Intensifying the Syria Conflict

It’s hard to fathom, writes political analyst Sharif Nashashibi in his debut article for Syria Deeply, but the civil war is about to get a lot worse. “This new push by the Syrian government’s allies,” he writes, “is setting the stage for the further escalation and prolongation of the conflict. If Moscow thinks its current muscle flexing will pacify Syria, it is sorely mistaken.”

My Syrian Diary Part 42

“It looks like escaping has become our new destiny,” writes Marah in this week’s diary entry. “We want to escape from home, from our responsibilities and from the whole country. What’s left? Maybe I will escape life altogether. The situation keeps deteriorating. I try not to let this crisis affect everything I do, but I always fail in this effort. The crisis is stronger than me. It actually controls my life.”

War Widows: Caught Between Unbearable Losses and Daily Challenges

Thousands of widowed Syrian women face poverty as well as grief. Unable to work, and with no income of their own, they often endure strict control from their remaining family. For some, life is so difficult that they make the heartbreaking decision to remarry in a desperate attempt to find financial stability. Syria Deeply’s partners on the ground spoke to widows throughout Idlib province about how they’re coping.

More Recent Stories to Look Out for at Syria Deeply:

Nigeria’s Continued Success Against Boko Haram

By Tyler Campbell

Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa

 

ABUJA, Nigeria – Late on April 16, 2014 heavily armed Boko Haram Islamists raided a Government Girls Secondary School and abducted nearly 200 girls from their dorms. Around 9 p.m. gunmen overtook soldiers guarding the school in a lengthy gun battle and forced nearly 200 girls onto trucks and vans. As they left the town they set fire to homes and business throughout the town.

(Loading those recused from Boko Haram onto trucks. Photo courtesy: Pan Atlantic Journal)

These scenes have become frighteningly commonplace in Nigeria. Terrorist organizations like Boko Haram, which roughly translates to western education is forbidden, had become an accepted part of life. This was true, until newly elected president Muhammadu Buhari declared all out war on these types of organizations. At first there was major backlash against president Buhari and his policy of eliminating these groups by December 2015. In fact, attacks by Boko Haram and other groups intensified right after Buhari’s election. Finally it seems the tides are starting to turn against these organizations and Nigeria’s military is racking up some notable accomplishments.

 

On September 23, the Nigerian military had one of these notable accomplishments. The military conducted raids on two Boko Haram camps and freed 241 women and children being held there. Along with freeing these prisoners they also captured 43 militants. One of these 43 was a notable Boko Haram kingpin named Bulama Modu.

 

Along with capturing militants, the Nigerian military destroyed the camps and captured weaponry, which ranged from AK-47’s to bows and arrows. One captured militant even gave up the location of a Boko Haram IED factory in the Dara Jamel village in Nigeria. The attitude of surrender seems to be spreading throughout the Boko Haram. Many militants have been caught burying their weapons and fleeing or surrendering to Nigerian troops.

 

Today a remaining pocket of Boko Haram terrorist attempted to make a last stand against the advancing forces of the Nigerian 120 Task Force Battalion. The Battalion successfully repelled the advance and inflicted heavy casualties on group. After the advance, a minimum of 100 militant bodies were found. The task force also captured a sizeable arms cache, which included 2 Rocket Propelled Grenades and supplies for making more IED’s.

 

As Boko Haram continues to retreat and lose ground they have been forced underground and out of the country. In the coming months it is likely that the group will turn more and more toward guerilla type tactics. This trend is already beginning to materialize. Last month Boko Haram claimed multiple suicide bombings  throughout Nigeria. Unfortunately, this is a price Nigeria and the surrounding area will have to pay as Boko Haram is slowly overwhelmed.

 

For more information, please see:

All Africa – Nigerian Army Kills Scores of Boko Haram Insurgents in Yobe State – 7 October 2015

Nigerian Army ­– Press Release – 23 September 2015

CNN – Nigerian forces free 241 women, children in Boko Haram camps, arrest kingpin – 23 September 2015

CNN – As many as 200 girls abducted by Boko Haram, Nigerian officials say – 16 April 2014

California Governor Signs Right-to-Die Legislation

By Samuel Miller
Impunity Watch Reporter, North America and Oceania

SACRAMENTO, CA, United States of America — California Gov. Jerry Brown signed “right-to-die” legislation on Monday that will allow the terminally ill to legally end their lives. California has joined four other states that allow terminally ill patients to legally end their lives with a doctor’s supervision.

Advocates of the Right-to-Die Legislation Illustrate the Case of Brittney Maynard. (Photo Courtesy of BBC News)

The California legislation is modeled after the Death with Dignity law passed by Oregon voters in 1994, which made that state the first in the nation to allow some terminally ill patients to choose the time of their own death.

In a rare personal message, Gov. Jerry Brown provided insight into his deliberations before deciding to sign the bill, reflecting on religion and self-determination as he weighed an emotionally fraught choice.

“In the end, I was left to reflect on what I would want in the face of my own death,” said Gov. Brown. “I do not know what I would do if I were dying in prolonged and excruciating pain. I am certain, however, that it would be a comfort to be able to consider the options afforded by this bill.” Gov. Brown has previously been treated for prostate cancer and melanoma.

Brown’s signature on the right-to-die legislation Monday capped an intensely personal debate that dominated much of this year’s legislative session and divided lawmakers. Many lawmakers also drew on personal experience to explain their decisions to support or reject legislation making California the fifth state to allow terminally ill patients to use doctor-prescribed drugs to end their lives.

The measure applies only to mentally sound people and not those who are depressed or impaired. The bill includes requirements that patients be physically capable of taking the medication themselves, that two doctors approve it, that the patients submit several written requests and that there be two witnesses, one of whom is not a family member.

Supporters hope that adoption of right-to-die legislation in the nation’s most populous state will spur approval elsewhere, although legislation introduced this year in at least two dozen other states stalled. Opponents said Monday that they were disappointed the governor relied so heavily on his personal experience in his decision and that they were considering options to stop it.

Among those opposed to the law are religious groups and advocates for people with disabilities, who worry it could open the door to all kinds of terrible scenarios, such as premature suicide, coerced early death and overriding God’s will.

At the center of the debate was Brittany Maynard, a 29-year-old California woman with brain cancer who drew national attention for her decision to move to Oregon to end her life. Prior to Ms. Maynard taking her own life, she told California lawmakers that the terminally ill should not have to “leave their home and community for peace of mind, to escape suffering and to plan for a gentle death.”

For more information, please see:

ABC News — Gov. Brown Signs California Right-to-Die Measure – 6 October 2015

CNN — California governor signs ‘right to die’ bill – 6 October 2015

Washington Post — Jerry Brown just signed right-to die-legislation in California. Here’s how we got here. – 6 October 2015

BBC News — California enacts right-to-die law for terminally ill – 5 October 2015

WebMD — CA Governor Signs Right-to-Die Bill Into Law – 5 October 2015