From our Member Bytes for All, Pakistan – Yameen Rasheed: Killing Field of Dissenting Voices Widens in South Asia
24 April 2017 12:27 pm

Islamabad, April 23, 2017: Bytes for All, Pakistan expresses deep shock and grief at the brutal murder of prominent Maldivian blogger and civil rights activist, Yameen Rasheed.

We strongly condemn this act of cowardice and impunity, and urge the local and international human rights community to intervene so that justice can be served to Yameen Rasheed and other assassinated or missing activists and journalists waiting for justice in Maldives.

Given the track record of Maldivian law enforcing authorities and rampant culture of impunity in the country, we fear that Yameen’s murder will not be investigated if international human rights institutions fail to intervene.

Persecution and silencing the voices of dissent, especially in online spaces is a rapidly increasing trend in South Asia. To-date, countless activists and journalists have been targeted, threatened, and murdered with impunity for their expression.

We urge international bodies such as United Nations Human Rights Council, Freedom Online Coalition, European Union and other influential human rights institutions to take notice of the growing crimes against human rights defenders and activists in South Asia region and do the needful so that such heinous crimes by state and non- state actors can be stopped.

For more information on Yameen Rasheed and his murder, please click here.

About Bytes for All, Pakistan:

Bytes for All (B4A), Pakistan is a human rights organization and a network of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) professionals and practitioners. It experiments and organizes debate on the relevance of ICTs for sustainable development and strengthening social justice movements in the country. Its mission is “ICTs for development, democracy and social justice”.