Bangladesh: Mob attacks stall displaying activist Taslima Nasreen's book
What's the story
A mob, allegedly consisting of madrasa students, attacked a book stall at the Amar Ekushey Book Fair in Dhaka, Bangladesh on Monday. The stall was attacked for displaying a book by Taslima Nasreen, a Bangladeshi author and rights activist who is currently living in exile in India, news agency ANI reported. Bangladesh's interim government's chief advisor, Muhammad Yunus, condemned the attack as showing "contempt for both the rights of Bangladeshi citizens and for the laws of our country."
Investigation initiated
Government advisor orders investigation into book fair attack
Yunus has ordered an investigation into the incident. He stressed that such violence undermines the open-minded spirit of the Ekushey Book Fair, which pays tribute to language martyrs from 1952. According to police and eyewitnesses, the incident took place when a group of agitators came to Sabyasachi Prakashani and started shouting why Taslima Nasreen's book was kept in the stall. "Later, Publisher Shatabdi Bhava was attacked by the people. They threw away Taslima's book," they added.
Author's reaction
Nasreen accuses government of supporting extremists
"The panic was there due to tensions between some students of the Qaumi Madrasa and the publisher of Sabyasachi Prokashoni," police official Masud Alam told ANI over the phone. Reacting to the attack on social media, Nasreen shared a video of the mob and called them "jihadist religious extremists." She also accused the government of supporting these extremists and claimed jihadist activities are spreading in Bangladesh.
Twitter Post
Video of the attack
Today, jihadist religious extremists attacked the stall of the publisher Sabyasachi at Bangladesh's book fair. Their "crime" was publishing my book. The book fair authorities and the police from the local station ordered the removal of my book. Even after it was removed, the… pic.twitter.com/ypddpQysiu
— taslima nasreen (@taslimanasreen) February 10, 2025