And, finally there is news from the court. The trial of the sedition charge will begin on this Wednesday at the court of Additional Metropolitan Session Judge. My lawyer Advocate S. N. Goswami (goswami@connectbd.com) is tirelessly working on making a strong argument so that the charge can not be framed. As you know, 25th April 2005 was the date fixed for framing of charge, and the government could not do that. Rather I was released on bail on 30th April 2005.

First of all, let me brief you, according to official documents, the investigation officer identifies few points as my offense, which he thinks as seditious and blasphemous:

1. In the speech I prepared for Hebrew Writers Symposium, I said that, Islamist radicals were gaining strength. 2. In the speech I also mentioned that they were receiving financial support from Afro-Arab sources and were using mosques and madrassas as their base for training etc. 3. In the speech I mentioned, leaders of these groups are repatriated 'soldiers' from Afghanistan and Palestine.

Now...

Everyone in Bangladesh and abroad are aware that all the points I mentioned in 2003 are not proved Gospel truth. But, still stupid people wants to continue with the trial . Why? Because, they think, if the case is dropped, it will annoy the Islamist radicals in Bangladesh.

In the First Information Report (FIR), the investigation officer stated that, I wrote an article titled 'Hello Tel Aviv' and sent it to USA Today for publication. In that article, I made lots of positive comments on Christians and Jews while I made negative remarks on Muslims. After I sent this article to USA Today, the ambassador of Israel in Singapore contacted me and since there I have relations with Israel. The IO also mentioned that I am a 'spy of Israeli intelligence agency'.

Isn't it funny?

First of all, I never sent any such article to USA Today. The Investigation officer even could not provide any evidence or copy of this so-called article. Moreover, just imagine, USA Today is a very large newspaper receiving hundred of op-eds every day. How the Israeli ambassador could know about a very specific op-ed which was sent from Bangladesh and never published there? The story concocted by police is so funny that any child in kindergarten will possibly burst into laughter if they will hear it. But, this is the fact that Bangladesh authorities are continuing to harass me with this false, fabricated, concocted and motivated case.

As you know...

Three esteemed members of US Congress, Mr. Mark Steven Kirk, Mr. Joseph Crowley and Mr. Peter King wrote a letter last month to Bangladesh ambassador in Washington asking to 'immediately drop the false case, return passport and other possessions and stop continued harassment'. In that letter, the honorable Congressmen wrote 'if this case proceeds, we assure you, it will come under intense international scrutiny'.

But...

After receiving such a strong letter from the US Congress, Bangladesh government is rather reluctant to listen to what they have requested and even they are going to begin the trial on Wednesday. It is almost like the attitude of former Taliban regime in Afghanistan.

Earlier...

A number of international organizations like PEN USA, Committee to Protect Journalists, IFLAC and Reporters Sans Frontiers sent letters to Bangladesh Government to drop the false case. But, those were also ignored. Some of the esteemed members of media in New York Times, International Herald Tribune, Middle East Web, Jerusalem Post, Buffalo Grove etc., also published comments on me.

But, it did not reach the deafs in the Government.

By the grace of G-d...

We shall win the case. The judge can not even frame a charge, if he will have minimum respect to the facts and realities. But, if he is dictated to frame the charge, even the government will loose the case, by the Grace of G-d, for sure. In that case, my lawyers will file a 200 million Taka compensation suite against the Government for unnecessarily harassing a journalist and obstructing the freedom of speech.

Even now...

Very tactfully some of the powerful figures in the Government are trying to convince me to change my profession, become a shop owner or a small trader and abandon my news papers and publication business. They want to suffocate us by silently suggesting the advertisers to refrain from advertising in Blitz and Jamjamat. They term us as Zionists. Okay, we are proud to be Zionists. You all know, in past six months, Blitz did not get even a single inch advertisement from the domestic business houses. Although Blitz is now the largest tabloid weekly in Bangladesh. And our vernacular weekly Jamjamat has already reached a weekly circulation of 15,000 copies and actually we can sell more than 50,000 copies, if we want. But, for this we need advertisements, which we do not have. Jamjamat is the colorful magazine and priced at Taka 5 only, while its competitors are priced at minimum Taka 10. Readers are pressing us to increase our circulation. But, we can't do that at this stage. We have to face extreme adversity along with serious financial constraint. But, still, our spirit is leading us in sustaining such adversities and challenges.

Large multinationals...

Like Unilever, Bata, Pepsi, Coke, Mobil, Proctor & Gamble, Reckit and Colman, Phillips, Sony, Hewlet Packard, Microsoft, IBM etc etc etc are spending millions of dollars in advertising their products in Bangladeshi media. But, they even did not respond to us as their advertising agents are locals.

But...

My friends, we have learnt to live in extreme adversity and we shall continue.

Thank you very much for kindly extending your valued support which gives me courage and inspiration. Just becasue of your blessings and support, I am still free from the jail. Just because of your encouragements, I still have dream and mission. Just because of your trust, we shall win... one day.

Finally my profound thanks to Dr. Richard L. Benkin, Dr. Ada Aharoni, Mr. Ami Isharrof, Dr. Tasbih Sayyed, Mr. Kamal Nawash Esq, Ms. Yehudit Barsky, Ms. Abi Wright, Ms. Kristin Jones, Mr. Mark Lee, Ms. Eileen Moskwitz, Mr. Adam Somers, Mr. Avner Tavori, Mr . Sheikh Abdul Hadi Palazzi, Ms, Loraine Despres Eastlake, Mr. D.H. Kerby. Mr. David Frunkfurter, Dr. Asher Eder, Ms. Kimberly Fornek, Mr. Saul Singer, Ms. Trudy Gefen, Rab bi Yehoshua, Ms. Marjorie Goldberg, Ms. Abby Dees, Mr. Israel Litman, Dr. Bernice Lipkin, Brother John, Ms. Candy Shinaar, American Jewish Committee, World Jewish Congress, Root & Branch, Islam Israel Fellowship, Rabbanit Peli, Ms. Jeanine, and Sister Susan Rosenbluth.

Please continue to support me. Please let us work in unison for global peace. Let us work together in seeing a world without bloodshed.

Shalom Uvracha!

Shoaib

The writer is a journalist, columnist, author, amd editor of "Weekly Blitz". Email him at salahuddinshoaibchoudhury@yahoo.com