:00:00. > :00:08.I remember talking to Avijit, walking out the book fair,
:00:09. > :00:26.We were getting out of the car, walking.
:00:27. > :00:36.What I remember next is that I am soaked in blood.
:00:37. > :00:40.In February this year, on this spot, a group of men attacked Avijit Roy
:00:41. > :00:49.She survived, but he was cut and slashed so much
:00:50. > :00:55.Avijit Roy was a vocal atheist, and his name was on a list
:00:56. > :01:06.of 84 bloggers who Islamists here accused of blasphemy.
:01:07. > :01:09.Four bloggers have been murdered so far this year.
:01:10. > :01:23.This is the story of what is happening to a small
:01:24. > :01:26.but highly visible clique of atheist and secular bloggers, who
:01:27. > :01:48.are opposing religious doctrine in this predominantly Muslim country.
:01:49. > :01:58.These are the faces of Bangladeshi bloggers, all murdered this year.
:01:59. > :02:01.Some had used the internet to criticise or even
:02:02. > :02:10.Others had argued that God has no place in politics.
:02:11. > :02:21.Of the four hacked to death this year, the best-known was Avijit Roy.
:02:22. > :02:24.This photograph of Avijit and his wife Bonya Ahmed was taken just
:02:25. > :03:29.It is one of the last pictures of them.
:03:30. > :03:40.I have four head wounds. in some kind of vehicle.
:03:41. > :03:43.They are like six, seven, eight-inch machete wounds, and one
:03:44. > :03:57.Like, my hands were cut so badly I had to
:03:58. > :04:02.go through four hours of surgery, to repair the nerves and arteries.
:04:03. > :04:04.The couple, who were born in Bangladesh, were visiting from
:04:05. > :04:08.their home in the United States to take part in the book fair, despite
:04:09. > :04:16.warnings that Avijit's atheist writings had made him a marked man.
:04:17. > :04:32.An Islamist extremist had written this message on his Facebook page.
:04:33. > :04:37.When Avijit Roy was killed, Rahman was arrested.
:04:38. > :04:39.He remains in custody, although many believe he is more
:04:40. > :04:48.Thousands marched in protest against Avijit Roy's murder.
:04:49. > :04:50.The killing of such a high-profile writer
:04:51. > :04:58.Attention turned to the writings which had provoked
:04:59. > :05:02.Articles and books critical of religion, with titles like
:05:03. > :05:10.But Roy is not the only Bangladeshi blogger to have been murdered
:05:11. > :05:14.for online posts which some Muslims found offensive.
:05:15. > :05:18.So far this year, a total of four have been killed, all attacked
:05:19. > :05:27.After Roy's murder, another atheist blogger, Washiqur
:05:28. > :05:30.Rahman, posted the hashtag I am Avijit Roy, to protest the killing.
:05:31. > :05:38.A month later he was attacked in a busy street in Dhaka.
:05:39. > :05:41.This pattern of horror was repeated, with two more murders
:05:42. > :05:52.of atheist bloggers, Ananta Bijoy and Niloy Neel.
:05:53. > :05:54.Bangladesh is a secular country with a long
:05:55. > :05:59.Its 160 million people are predominantly Muslim,
:06:00. > :06:07.But that has always sat beside a long tradition of separation
:06:08. > :06:17.To understand how that balance has been upset,
:06:18. > :06:23.Tensions between conservative Islam and secular Bangladeshi society came
:06:24. > :06:37.Thousands poured onto the streets of Dhaka to demonstrate
:06:38. > :06:45.against what they saw as the rising influence of Islamist parties.
:06:46. > :06:53.Secular bloggers played a high-profile role in the protests.
:06:54. > :07:02.I met one of the secular bloggers at the site of the protests.
:07:03. > :07:10.Filling up the streets, all the roads were crowded.
:07:11. > :07:19.It was very different, it was a magical time.
:07:20. > :07:28.The ideas circulating during it, the demand to keep religion out
:07:29. > :07:31.of politics, and even the liberal spirit of the protests, were
:07:32. > :07:40.The challenge to you is that, in a way, what you did here was
:07:41. > :07:46.You stood up against Islamic parties.
:07:47. > :07:49.You behaved in a very liberal way, which shocked people, and sort
:07:50. > :07:57.And what happened next was the first murder of a Bangladeshi
:07:58. > :08:00.atheist blogger, two years before Avijit Roy was killed.
:08:01. > :08:06.Rajib Haider, also known as Thaba Baba, used to
:08:07. > :08:19.He was killed by machete, and five students confessed to his murder.
:08:20. > :08:20.Suddenly, atheist and secular bloggers were
:08:21. > :08:28.One protester invited me to his home, where he said he could
:08:29. > :08:37.But when I knew that Thaba Baba was dead, I remember that
:08:38. > :08:48.The problem was, many of those texts were not a huge problem.
:08:49. > :08:51.But when those texts went into every corner of this country,
:08:52. > :09:02.you know, and every village, then actually the whole thing changed.
:09:03. > :09:04.What happened is the bloggers were heroes first, then
:09:05. > :09:10.The streets of Dhaka filled up again.
:09:11. > :09:15.But this time, it wasn't secular protesters.
:09:16. > :09:17.It was Islamists, demanding that atheist bloggers be arrested
:09:18. > :09:32.The authorities cracked down, and the demonstrations ended with
:09:33. > :09:40.a violent stand-off between police and protesters.
:09:41. > :09:48.The movement against atheist bloggers has been
:09:49. > :10:02.led by Hefazat-e-Islam, the protectors of the Islamic faith.
:10:03. > :10:08.It is an organisation which isn't an Islamic party,
:10:09. > :10:26.very much based in the madrasas, or Islamic schools, that it runs.
:10:27. > :10:29.Hefazat-e-Islam is big and grassroots.
:10:30. > :10:31.They have thousands of madrasas across Bangladesh, educating boys,
:10:32. > :10:42.For years, the seminarians never intervened in politics.
:10:43. > :10:44.But the rise of atheist blogging spurred them into demanding that
:10:45. > :10:51.Mohammed Zafarullah Khan led the charge out of the madrasas.
:10:52. > :10:54.What did you think when you read what
:10:55. > :11:43.I understand that what they said offended Islamic belief.
:11:44. > :12:33.But in a democracy, shouldn't they be able to say whatever they like?
:12:34. > :12:35.Hefazat-e-Islam condemns the killings
:12:36. > :12:39.and says it had no part in them, insisting it is the government's
:12:40. > :12:45.But the organisation did help make a list of bloggers accused
:12:46. > :12:50.of insulting Islam, which it presented to the government.
:12:51. > :12:55.Leaked to the media, that list has essentially become a hit list.
:12:56. > :13:01.All of the murdered bloggers appear on it.
:13:02. > :13:08.What is it like to be on that list and still be alive?
:13:09. > :13:17.Some have left Bangladesh but others remain, living in fear.
:13:18. > :13:23.They keep a low profile and stay mostly in their homes.
:13:24. > :13:31.He writes under the pen-name Sobak, which means Active Voice.
:13:32. > :13:35.He has been identified on the now infamous list six times under
:13:36. > :13:38.different aliases and his face even appeared on a banner at a march
:13:39. > :14:10.And it is not just fear for his own life.
:14:11. > :14:13.He is the father of two young children.
:14:14. > :14:15.The strain on his family is taking a toll.
:14:16. > :14:48.I don't think anyone would blame you if you had a panic attack or
:14:49. > :15:22.Who exactly is it that he should fear?
:15:23. > :15:25.No-one knows for certain but clandestine Islamist groups
:15:26. > :15:59.have claimed responsibility for some of the murders.
:16:00. > :16:02.The Bangladeshi authorities suspect a local group which they believe
:16:03. > :16:17.Police have recently arrested members of Ansarullah Bangla Team.
:16:18. > :16:19.Fighting terrorism in Bangladesh is primarily the job
:16:20. > :16:31.VOICE-OVER: They are the pride of the nation...
:16:32. > :16:33.I visited their headquarters to speak to
:16:34. > :16:43.At this stage, you believe these groups, one of
:16:44. > :16:46.them has been named as Ansarullah Bangla Team, you believe they are
:16:47. > :16:50.We don't think that we should be confining our security concerns
:16:51. > :17:04.This is international Islamist terror?
:17:05. > :17:10.We are not living in a world where there are only national boundaries.
:17:11. > :17:20.The scale of the challenge, do you look at what is happening
:17:21. > :17:23.in Iraq and Syria with Islamic State and worry that some of that
:17:24. > :17:29.We should always take precautions for that.
:17:30. > :17:33.We should take proper measures so that it does not affect my country.
:17:34. > :17:41.We cannot keep our fingers crossed until it comes to our country.
:17:42. > :17:43.No, we have to be proactive and watchful
:17:44. > :17:52.Police have told the media that Ansarullah Bangla
:17:53. > :17:56.Team, the group they have cracked down on, now plan more murders
:17:57. > :18:08.The most recent blogger to be killed was Niloy Neel, who was
:18:09. > :18:18.His online comments on religion were biting and often mocking.
:18:19. > :18:23.He shared a photo of a bombing in Afghanistan with a comment.
:18:24. > :18:25.VOICE-OVER READING: No-one has claimed responsibility yet.
:18:26. > :18:30.However, you can bet your bottom dollar it was a devout
:18:31. > :18:42.That evening, attackers got into his home
:18:43. > :18:45.and hacked him to death while his family was locked in another room.
:18:46. > :19:00.Avijit Roy's father is still trying to come to terms with the
:19:01. > :19:33.death of his son, the first atheist blogger to be murdered this year.
:19:34. > :19:37.For Avijit Roy, atheism was a family tradition.
:19:38. > :19:43.His father founded a rationalist magazine.
:19:44. > :19:46.It was Avijit Roy's ability to turn it into a successful online blog
:19:47. > :19:48.that won him fame internationally as a writer
:19:49. > :19:51.but he missed his family and decided to visit Bangladesh
:19:52. > :21:07.Do you have any regret about Avijit and what happened?
:21:08. > :21:34.How do you feel now about his killers?
:21:35. > :21:37.What makes Bangladesh perhaps unique among Muslim countries is that here,
:21:38. > :21:38.for all the intimidation and killing,
:21:39. > :21:47.atheism has found some very vocal champions.
:21:48. > :21:49.Drawing on a tradition of Bengali secular culture,
:21:50. > :22:23.These killers have gotten a free pass.
:22:24. > :22:26.They think they can do whatever they want to.
:22:27. > :22:31.But there is also a very strong force in Bangladesh
:22:32. > :23:33.The weather is going to turn a bit calmer for the last day of 2015. We
:23:34. > :23:37.are not going to get those raging gales and lashings of rain. In fact,
:23:38. > :23:39.for many of us first thing in the morning on New