Secular Bangladeshi blogger on hitlist warned, told he 'will be next'

Ananya Azad, a Bangladeshi blogger, whose name is on a 'hit-list' for secular writers is afraid that he might be the next target of Islamist militants.

The militants in Bangladesh have already slaughtered three other writers like Azad. Azad's own father had also survived a machete onslaught in 2004 after he wrote a critique of fundamentalism. 

Relating to the latest incident of writer Ananta Bijoy Das's killing to the Guardian, Azad said that he had received a threatening message on Facebook saying "You would be the next person. So be careful." 

Azad said, "Anyone who has a critical view about religion is exposed. I probably have reduced my frequency of writing but my nature of writing has not changed.”

Ananta Bijoy Das was the latest victim of the Islamist militants who hacked him to death on 12 May 2015. That was the third attack in less than three months on a critic of religious extremism in the Muslim-majority nation. The killing added to the brutal murders of writers Avijit Roy and Oyashiqur Rahman.

Also Read: Third blogger Ananta Bijoy Das hacked to death in Bangladesh