91998E3594

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3594/98

by Johanna Maij-Weggen (PPE) to the Commission

(3 December 1998)

Subject: The Bangladeshi writer Taslima Nasrin

Can the Commission indicate what it has done in response to the resolution adopted by the European Parliament in September 1998 in order to ensure that Mrs Taslima Nasrin's safety is guaranteed when she visits her terminally ill mother in Bangladesh?

Answer given by Mr Marín on behalf of the Commission

(12 January 1999)

The Commission, through its delegation in Dhaka, has been following very closely developments in the case of writer Taslima Nasrin.

It may be noted that there have been recent developments. On 22 November 1998 Mrs Nasrim appeared before the High Court which granted her bail in the second case filed against her by a Bangladeshi citizen. It should be recalled that in the first case, filed by the government in 1994, Mrs Nasrin had already obtained bail. Following the granting of bail and according to her defence counsel, she is now free to travel inside Bangladesh and abroad. Obviously her freedom of movement is limited by the risk of action that might be taken against her by pro-Islamic extremist groups.

The Commission delegation in Dhaka remains in close contact with the diplomatic missions of the Member States and is ready to participate in any initiative considered helpful in the Taslima Nasrin case.