IV 
109TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. RES. 1080 
Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the Government 
of Bangladesh should immediately drop all pending charges against 
Bangladeshi journalist Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
NOVEMBER 14, 2006 
Mr. KIRK (for himself and Mrs. LOWEY) submitted the following resolution; 
which was referred to the Committee on International Relations 
RESOLUTION 
Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that 
the Government of Bangladesh should immediately drop 
all pending charges against Bangladeshi journalist Salah 
Uddin Shoaib Choudhury. 
Whereas Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury is a Bangladeshi 
journalist who, because of his beliefs in an interfaith dia-
logue between Jews and Muslims and criticism of Islamic 
extremism, is on trial for sedition, an offense punishable 
by death; 
Whereas on November 29, 2003, Mr. Choudhury was ar-
rested at Zia International Airport in Dhaka, Ban-
gladesh, on his way to board a flight bound for Tel Aviv; 
Mr. Choudhury’s passport was seized, along with consid-
erable sums of money and several personal items; on that 
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•HRES 1080 IH 
same day police raided Mr. Choudhury’s home and news-
paper offices, seizing files, computers, and other 
valuables; 
Whereas Mr. Choudhury was detained in Dhaka Central Jail 
for a passport violation, then subsequently charged with 
sedition; Mr. Choudhury suffered harsh interrogation 
techniques and received no treatment for a debilitating 
case of glaucoma; Mr. Choudhury’s incarceration lasted 
17 months without legal recourse; 
Whereas on April 30, 2005, after intervention by the United 
States Department of State and congressional offices, 
Mr. Choudhury was released on bail; 
Whereas in the subsequent months, senior members of the 
Bangledeshi Government made continuous public prom-
ises that there was no substance to Mr. Choudhury’s 
pending charges and that all charges would be dropped; 
Whereas on September 29, 2005, Mr. Choudhury was award-
ed the ‘‘Freedom to Write Award’’ by PEN USA; 
Whereas on May 5, 2006, Mr. Choudhury was awarded the 
American Jewish Committee’s Moral Courage Award in 
absentia in Washington, D.C.; two days prior to Mr. 
Choudhury receiving the award, after returning Mr. 
Choudhury’s passport and appearing to allow him to at-
tend, senior Bangladeshi Government officials issued 
threats to prevent him from leaving the country; 
Whereas on July 6, 2006, Mr. Choudhury’s newspaper offices 
were bombed by an Islamic extremist organization after 
Mr. Choudhury and his staff published articles in support 
of the Ahmadiyya Muslim minority; Mr. Choudhury re-
ceived a tip about the bombing days before and reported 
it to police, who refused to take action; 
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•HRES 1080 IH 
Whereas on September 18, 2006, a judge with alleged ties to 
an Islamic extremist party ruled that Mr. Choudhury will 
stand trial for sedition; the judge made this ruling de-
spite the Public Prosecutor’s testimony in court days be-
fore that the government did not have evidence and 
would not object to the charges being dropped; 
Whereas on October 5, 2006, Mr. Choudhury was attacked 
at his newspaper offices by a large group of individuals, 
including prominent members of the ruling Bangladesh 
National Party; police protection for Mr. Choudhury was 
withdrawn just days before the attack; Mr. Choudhury 
was called an ‘‘agent of the Jews’’ and beaten badly; 
when Mr. Choudhury reported the attack to the police, no 
action was taken; 
Whereas members of the United States Commission on Inter-
national Religious Freedom visited with Mr. Choudhury 
on their trip to Bangladesh in February and March 
2006; 
Whereas on October 6, 2006, the United States Commission 
on International Religious Freedom wrote a letter to U.S. 
Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian 
Affairs Richard A. Boucher calling on the United States 
Government to strengthen the ‘‘voices of moderation’’ in 
countries like Bangladesh where the rule of law, demo-
cratic institutions, and respect for human rights are 
under assault by violent extremists; the Commission iden-
tified Mr. Choudhury as one of those voices that should 
not be silenced; 
Whereas, according to the Department of State’s 2005 Coun-
try Report on Human Rights Practices in Bangladesh, 
‘‘Attacks on journalists and newspapers, and government 
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•HRES 1080 IH 
efforts to intimidate them, political party activists, and 
others, occurred frequently.’’; and 
Whereas moderate voices in the Muslim world must be sup-
ported and protected to advance the security of the 
United States and its allies: Now, therefore, be it 
Resolved, That it is the sense of the House of Rep-
resentatives that— 
(1) the Government of Bangladesh should im-
mediately 
drop 
all 
pending 
charges 
against 
Bangladeshi 
journalist 
Salah 
Uddin 
Shoaib 
Choudhury; 
(2) the Government of Bangladesh should im-
mediately return all of Mr. Choudhury’s confiscated 
possessions; and 
(3) the Government of Bangladesh should cease 
harassment and intimidation of Mr. Choudhury, 
take steps to protect Mr. Choudhury, and hold ac-
countable those responsible for attacks against Mr. 
Choudhury. 
Æ 
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