DHAKA: Dr. Ferdinand von Weyhe, Chargé d’Affaires of the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany to Bangladesh on Monday said the German Government strongly condemned the murder of Niladri Chaterjee (Niloy Nil) that occurred last Friday (August 7).

Dr. Ferdinand von Weyhe came up with the reactions of German government while holding a meeting with Dr. Imran H Sarker, a representative of the blogger community, to discuss the recent attacks on liberal internet activists in this country, says a press release issued by the embassy on August 10.

In his conversation Dr. von Weyhe further said, “This barbaric assault on an outspoken member of the blogger community is the latest attack on the freedom of expression in Bangladesh. A society needs to practice tolerance and cannot allow extremists to dictate the actions and words of liberal minds.”

Dr. Imran H Sarker and Dr. von Weyhe discussed options to protect bloggers and internet activists in Bangladesh.

They also spoke about measures to limit the reach of terror organizations. The German Embassy has been working on protection of journalists in Bangladesh for numerous years and has undertaken several projects on de-radicalization.

He also called upon the government to take all necessary measures to ensure the safety of internet activists in the country, to strengthen the freedom of expression for every citizen irrespectively of their opinions and to do its utmost for a quick investigation of the murders.

He also put emphasis on bringing the culprits that committed these horrible crimes to justice.

He also extended condolences to the widow and family of slain blogger Niladri Chatterjee.

This is the fourth murder of a liberal blogger in Bangladesh in the past six month.

BDST: 1546 HRS, AUG 09, 2015
SR