Bangladesh Gay Rights Activist Is Hacked to Death - The New York Times

Bangladesh Gay Rights Activist Is Hacked to Death - The New York Times: "In the last two years, similar killings have taken place, targeting intellectuals, secular writers, members of religious minority groups and activists who had published views critical of Islam. Ms. Hossain said this was the first time extremists appeared to go after someone for his sexual identity.



 “It’s a new shift, a new turn,” she said. “This is something different now.”



 Monirul Islam, the head of the counterterrorism unit for the Dhaka Metropolitan Police, described the attack as a “planned killing.”



 On Saturday, a university professor, Rezaul Karim Siddiquee, was hacked to death and nearly beheaded when he was attacked near his home in the northwest city of Rajshai. The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the attack on the professor, according to a message posted on Twitter by the SITE Intelligence Group, which monitors jihadist websites.



 Last year, unidentified men used machetes to attack four activists who published views critical of Sunni Islam, and two publishers who had published their works. The attacks took place in broad daylight, on crowded city streets, or in the victims’ homes.



 Since those attacks, extremists appeared to broaden their list of targets to include new categories of minorities. Shiite Muslims, Hindu priests and Christian priests were attacked, and two foreigners were shot, apparently at random. The killings resumed this month, with the hacking death of a student activist in Dhaka and the killing of the university professor."



'via Blog this'