Ratan Kumar Samadder

Ratan Kumar Samadder is a prominent and popular secular blogger from Bangladesh. He has been blogging in Bangladesh since 2010, using the pen-name ‘Sannyasi’ for his safety. Prior to 2012 he wrote for the website www.somewhereinblog.net/sannyasi, and also published articles on the Mukto-Mona (Free-mind) blog, founded by Avijit Roy, and the website Nagorik. Since 2012 he has published extensively on Facebook, where he has a huge number of followers. His writing criticises the rise of Islamic fundamentalism and associated violence in Bangladesh, India and Pakistan, and calls for justice for attacks on religious minorities. He has also written in support of women’s and LGBTQI rights, and calls for co-education for boys and girls. He has denounced corruption across the political spectrum in the country, and calls for secularism and social justice in politics and education

After increasing popularity on his blog, and also on facebook, his identity was known to the public in 2013. After the murder of his friend and fellow blogger Ananta Bijoy Das in May this year, Samadder feared for his life an contacted ICORN.

The situation of Bangladesh bloggers in 2015

In this 2015 alone, four blogger who appeared on this list have been brutally killed. On 26 February 2015, distinguished blogger Avijit Roy was brutally murdered, while his wife was injured in the attack. Only one month later, the murder of blogger Washiqur Rahman followed. Ananta Bijoy Das was stabbed to death in the city of Sylhet by a masked gang on 12 May 2015. In the wake of these killings more than 150 writers from across the globe spoke out, calling on Bangladeshi Prime Minister Hasina Wajed and her government to do all in their power to ensure that the tragic events were not repeated and to bring the perpetrators to justice.