PAKISTAN: HIGH COURT REJECTS BAIL TO DR SHAIKH

On 16th January, 2001, the High Court at Rawalpindi rejected the bail application of Dr Younus Shaikh. Dr Shaikh, rationalist and founder-president of the organization Enlightenment, is in Adyala jail at Rawalpindi since 4 October 2000, accused of blasphemy. Blasphemy is an offence with mandatory death penalty in Pakistan, if found guilty.

Trusted contacts of Rationalist International in Pakistan informed that the reason given for the rejection of the bail was the intention of the court to protect the life of Dr Shaikh from angry fundamentalist mob. The court expressed fear that fanatics would attack him if he was given bail and let free.

The next effort will be to move the bail application in the Supreme Court of Pakistan.

We request all supporters of Freedom of Speech around the world to continue their efforts to pursue the Pakistani authorities to drop the case against Dr Younus Shaikh by writing to the Chief Executive of Pakistan.

DAVID TRIBE NOW AN HONORARY ASSOCIATE

David Tribe, veteran rationalist, author and former president of Britain's National Secular Society, has joined Rationalist International as an Honorary Associate.

David Harold Tribe was born in Sydney and educated in Brisbane, Australia. Tribe lived for many years in the UK, where he was associated with all wings of the freethought movement as outdoor speaker, lecturer, broadcaster, journalist, author, public relations advisor, strategist, campaigner and organizer. He was chairman of Humanist Group Action (1961-64), executive committee member of National Council for Civil Liberties (1961-72), president of National Secular Society (1963-71), editor of The Freethinker (1966), chairman of Secular Society Ltd. and G W Foote & Co. (1967-72). David Tribe is active in the broad freethought movement without holding office since return to Australia. His books include "Freethought and Humanism in Shakespeare" (1964), "Why are We Here?" (verse, 1965), "Religion and Ethics in Schools" (1965), "100 Years of Freethought" (1967), "The Cost of Church Schools" (1970), "President Charles Bradlaugh, MP" (1971), "Nucleoethics: Ethics in Modern Society" (1972, 1973) and "Questions of Censorship" (1973).

BANGLADESH: HIGH COURT DECLARES

FATWAS ILLEGAL

The Dhaka High Court, in a principle decision, has declared fatwas as illegal. Rulings by Muslim clerics on the base of Islamic law are not only not binding, they are punishable. Constituting an example, the high court ordered the arrest of a cleric from north-western Bangladesh, who had forced a couple against their will to break-up their marriage, since the husband after a quarrel with his wife, had allegedly been heard pronouncing triple talaq.

While many Islamic organizations hailed the path breaking decision, some fundamentalist leaders fumed against the responsible high court judges Golam Rebbani and Najmun Ara Sultana. Mufti Fazlul Haque Amini, chief of the extremist opposition party Islami Oikya Jote, and his deputy Moulana Azizul Haque found it appropriate to declare the judges renegades and to issue a fatwa against them.

Mohammed Ali Zinnat, general secretary of the Reporters Unity of the south-eastern town Cox's Bazar, who is also correspondent of the daily Bhorer Kaghoj, which itself had been victim of fatwas in the past, did not loose time to file a suit against the stubborn fatwa fanatics. The magistrate in charge ordered a police investigation into the case.