A coalition of free expression and human rights advocacy groups has appealed to US secretary of state John Kerry to provide temporary visa to Bangladeshi secular writers, bloggers facing threats follo
A coalition of free expression and human rights advocacy groups has appealed to US secretary of state John Kerry to provide temporary visa to Bangladeshi secular writers, bloggers facing threats following brutal killings by extremists.
“We write to urge the US government to provide humanitarian parole for a limited number of high-profile Bangladeshi secularists at imminent risk of attack.
“The dire situation that these writers face fits the criteria and high threshold applicable to the granting of humanitarian parole,” said the letter addressed to Mr Kerry. Signatories to the letter include PEN American Centre, the Association of Amer-ican Publishers, the Centre for Inquiry, City of Asylum Pittsburgh, Freedom House, Human Rights First, Human Rights Watch, and Reporters Without Borders.
Humanitarian parole is a discretionary visa-granting programme intended to provide emergency relief to individuals at risk who would otherwise be inadmissible to the US. The state department can appeal to the department of homeland security for the parole.
