Bangladesh Teacher Arrested Over Banned Book

A teacher at a college in southern Bangladesh was arrested and could be jailed for up to three years. What was his crime? He may have approved the inclusion of a banned book in the school's library.

image source: http://gisbornelibrary.wordpress.com

That a school faculty member - or anybody, really - could be arrested and possibly imprisoned over a book is just incredible to me. Perhaps the worldwide attention that this particular case is getting will cause the authorities in southern Bangladesh to reconsider their actions.

Winnipeg Free Press * January 6, 2012

Bangladesh Teacher Arrested After Banned Book Found in College Library

By The Associated Press

DHAKA, Bangladesh - Police have arrested the head teacher at a college in southern Bangladesh after a book considered blasphemous by some Muslims was found in the school's library, an official said Wednesday.

Police officer Abdul Malek said S.M. Yunus Ali was arrested for possessing the novel "Lajja," or "Shame," written by exiled writer Taslima Nasrin.

Malek said Ali, head teacher at the K.C. Technical and Business Management College, could face up to three years in jail if he is found guilty of authorizing the book's inclusion in the library.

The Prothom Alo newspaper said Wednesday that Ali denied having the book and said he was the victim of a conspiracy.

Police corruption and misuse of police investigations by politicians are widespread in Bangladesh.

The novel was banned a year after its publication in 1993 and Nasrin was forced to flee Bangladesh to escape death threats from radical Muslims who considered it blasphemous for advocating secularism. She has been living in India and Europe since then.