With the brutal murder of yet another Bangladeshi blogger on Wednesday in Dhaka, Western governments appear to finally understand the severity of this issue. The extremists in Bangladesh have already hacked 5 other bloggers in 2015, and Nazimuddin Samad, the victim, did not deserve to die for expressing his views. Clamping down on freedom of expression by murdering a person has lasting effects on society, because other people will also fear expressing their opinions in the future as well. The US received over 1200 applications for asylums in 2015 alone, and it is time these were taken seriously.

It is important that developed countries look to protect proponents of secular thought in countries where their lives are under threat. These bloggers are providing a very important service to the people of Bangladesh, in promoting a more tolerant society, one that cannot be brought about unless the views of all ends of the spectrum are voiced. The society is going through a very important change, one that could go either way, in a more extremist direction, or by shedding off the burden of history and becoming more progressive.

The lives of Bangladeshi bloggers are irrefutably in danger. Their own government has failed to protect them in an increasingly hostile environment. The incidents of violence are only likely to increase with greater secular discourse in society. The extremists are looking to crush dissent, not realising that their actions are counterproductive to their own cause. Asylum in the US or other western countries would allow these bloggers to express their views without fearing for their lives. Regardless, there is a need to protect these individuals, not only to preserve the sanctity of life, but also to ensure that Bangladeshi society has greater plurality of thought in the future.