ulture of hatred.” He says that if “Muslim countries want peace they need relations with Israel.”
Mr. Choudhury says he holds no hope of getting a fair trial. The judge, he says, is a radical Islamist who has already made clear his view that Mr. Choudhury is guilty. “In open court … he made comments that by praising Christians and Jews I have hurt the sentiment of Muslims … which is a crime,” the journalist says. Other comments made by the Judge have made it clear, Mr. Choudhury tells me, that the judge’s goal is a conviction and a death sentence. Mr. Choudhury describes his judge as a “one man judge and jury,” and Mr. Choudhury cannot even present witnesses in his own defense.
Why hasn’t Mr. Choudhury fled Bangladesh despite having had the opportunity? Because, he says, “if I leave I will be proved to be a coward … I want to fight the matter to the last.” Many of Mr. Choudhury’s colleagues have fled the country, but Mr. Choudhury, a practicing Muslim, wants to live free in his own country and beat the case set against him. “There is no pride, no honor, and no dignity in retreating,” he says.
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