Conference turris::scandia

246.0. "Critic of Islamic law flees to Sweden" by TLE::SAVAGE () Wed Aug 10 1994 14:28

    STOCKHOLM, Sweden (AP) -- Taslima Nasrin, the Bangladeshi author with a
    price on her head from Muslim extremists, arrived in Stockholm on
    Wednesday after fleeing her homeland, the Foreign Ministry said.
    
    The ministry did not say where she was staying, how she arrived, or
    what her ultimate destination was. A Bangladeshi newspaper reported
    Wednesday that she apparently was headed for Norway, where authorities
    were considering offering her asylum.
    
    Norwegan and Swedish officials denied earlier that Ms. Nasrin was
    heading to their countries.
    
    Outraged militants in Bangladesh denounced their government for letting
    her go. But Home Secretary Azimuddin told The Associated Press in Dhaka
    that ``she was free to go anywhere she liked and that's what she did.''
    
    After two months in hiding from an arrest warrant, Ms. Nasrin emerged
    Aug. 3 to face a charge of insulting Islam and was granted bail. No
    trial date was set, and the judge said she was allowed to visit other
    countries if she informed the court.
    
    Muslim fundamentalist groups have offered rewards for her assassination
    and organized huge rallies against her in Dhaka. They were infuriated
    by a newspaper article that quoted her as calling for changes in the
    Koran, the Islamic holy book.
    
    Ms. Nasrin has denied making the comment about the Koran but admits
    calling for changes in Islamic laws that restrict many women to
    housework and child rearing. She faces a maximum penalty of two years
    in jail if she is convicted of offending Muslims.
    
    The extremists have called for a new law that would make blasphemy a
    capital crime in Bangladesh, a predominantly Muslim but secular
    country.
    
    Three Islamic groups in Bangladesh criticized the government for
    letting her leave the country. ``She must be brought back and put on
    trial,'' said Fazlul Haq Amini, a fundamentalist leader.
    
    In Dhaka, Ms. Nasrin's parents and brother refused to open the door or
    comment Wednesday.
    
    Sources close to the Bangladeshi government said Ms. Nasrin left
    Tuesday for Bangkok, Thailand, and was scheduled to fly from there to a
    Scandinavian country.
    
    The Al Mujadded newspaper said Ms. Nasrin left her apartment in Dhaka
    accompanied by Norwegian diplomats. She has been invited to attend a
    writers conference in Norway next month.
    
    But a spokesman for the Norwegian Foreign Ministry in Oslo, Ingvard
    Havnen, said: ``That information that there was a Norwegian diplomat
    involved is wrong.'' He said he had ``no idea where she is or what she
    is doing.''
    
    Havnen said his government had not offered Ms. Nasrin asylum, but said
    it would look favorably on her application if she applied.
    
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    STOCKHOLM, Sweden (Reuter) - Controversial Bangladeshi feminist writer
    Taslima Nasrin, under death threat from Muslim extremists for allegedly
    insulting Islam, arrived in Sweden Wednesday after fleeing her country,
    Sweden's Foreign Ministry said.
    
    Foreign Minister Margaretha af Ugglas said in a statement she was
    pleased Nasrin had been able to leave Bangladesh legally. She gave no
    precise details of the author's whereabouts.
    
    ``The Swedish government, like many others, has been actively involved
    in her case for a long time,'' af Ugglas said. Nasrin was granted bail
    by the High Court last Wednesday on a charge of insulting Islam. There
    was no bar on her leaving the country.
    
    She had been a fugitive since June. The government had ordered her
    arrest for insulting Muslim religious feelings after she was quoted by
    India's Statesman newspaper as saying Islam's holy book, the Koran,
    should be ``revised thoroughly.'' Nasrin said she was misquoted but the
    newspaper stood by its report.