American blogger who spoke out against religious extremism is hacked to death by Muslim militant group on Bangladeshi street as he walked with his wife
- Dr Avijit Roy was attacked by cleaver-wielding gang in Dhaka, Bangladesh
- Militants Ansar Bangla 7 claimed responsibility for 'professional' murder
- Roy was reportedly killed by three powerful blows to the head
- Wife Rafida Ahmed also attacked and is in hospital with critical injuries
- Couple live in Atlanta, Georgia, and were visiting Dhaka for a book fair
- Bio-engineer and prominent blogger spoke out against religious extremism
- Police have made no arrests, and so far say they have no leads
- WARNING GRAPHIC CONTENT
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A prominent Bangladeshi-American blogger has been hacked to death in the street by militant Muslims after denouncing religious extremism.
Dr Avijit Roy, who lives in Atlanta, Georgia, and is known for his outspoken atheism, was jumped by the gang of machete-wielding assailants last night in Bangladesh.
An obscure militant group, Ansar Bangla 7, has claimed responsibility for the attack, which it said is in retaliation for his 'crime against Islam'.
Police say at least two men attacked Roy, turned on his wife, then fled into a crowd.
His body was found in a pool of blood on Thursday night after the brutal attack.
Roy's wife, Rafida Ahmed, 45, was also attacked, and is reportedly in hospital with a deep cut to her head.
Roy had been receiving threats to his life online for years.
The couple were visiting the city of Dhaka, Bangladesh, for a book fair event when they were set upon opposite the Dhaka University Central Mosque.
Two blood-stained cleavers were found by officers close to the scene of the murder, which took place around 8:45pm.
According to an autopsy report obtained by Bangladesh News 24, Roy was killed by three deep gashes, which cut through his skull to the brain.
Doctors examining Roy's body said the attack had the hallmarks of professional killers, who acted with 'planning, skill and brutality'.
Ahmed, who is also a blogger, was struck on the head and taken to hospital in critical condition.
Local news site Bangladesh News 24 reported that she had lost a finger in the attack and had a deep gash to her head.
She was reportedly only attacked after she tried to intervene and protect her husband.
Police are yet to arrest anybody over the killing -and said Friday that they are yet to find any leads.
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Murder: The body of Avijit Roy was found in a pool of blood after being attacked by a clever wielding gang in Dhaka, Bangladesh on Thursday night
Victim survivor: Rafida Ahmed is pictured above being stretchered to hospital after the attack Thursday night. Police say she was attacked after trying to defend Roy
Home: Roy and his wife, Rafida Ahmed, lived in the U.S, and were visiting Bangladesh when they were attacked
Family: Roy has a daughter who is at college in the U.S. - the picture above is believed to show him with Ahmed and the young woman
Hunt: Police are investigating the killing in Dhaka, Bangladesh but have not yet made any arrests following the bloody attack
Ansar Bangla 7, the militant group claiming responsibility, later posted jubilant messages on social media and claiming he was an especially attractive target for being American.
The account said: 'The target was an American citizen.. 2 in 1. #America recently martyred 2 of our brothers in #Khurasan & #Shaam. #Revenge+#Punishment.'
Khurasan and Shaam refer to Afghanistan and Syria respectively. The terms seem to indicate the attack was partly inspired by U.S. foreign policy.
Roy was of a Hindu background - a religious minority in Bangladesh which which has been historically persecuted. He is also the son of a prominent secularist and human rights activist, Ajay Roy.
The bio-engineer, a naturalized U.S. citizen, was a prominent voice against religious intolerance, who had been sent death threats over his writings.
Roy, who was about 40 years old, and his wife were ambushed as they walked past a roadside tea stall.
Chief Sirajul Islam said said: 'Several attackers took part in the attack and at least two assailants hit them directly,' Islam said, adding that two blood-stained cleavers were found after the attack.
After the attack, the men vanished into the crowds. Police said Friday that they are yet to find any leads.
Roy was often threatened over his writings, which appeared online, in newspapers and in several published books.
According to Bangladesh News 24, as recently a Muslim fanatic named Farabi Shafiur Rahman had posted threats on Facebook that Roy would be killed as soon as he returned to the country.
He is said to have written: 'Avijit Roy lives in America. So it's not possible to kill him now. He will be killed as soon as he returns home'.
In a later post, he is said to have continued: 'It’s now time to openly kill those atheists who will make obscene comments against Allah and His Messenger, giving them slow, painful death... In Bangladesh, either we Muslims will survive or the atheists will.'
The Guardian reported that he was arrested for the comments - but it is unclear whether or how soon he was released.
Roy was the founder of a popular Bengali-language blog - Mukto-mona, or Free Mind - in which articles on scientific reasoning and religious extremism featured prominently.
On its pages, Roy had recently published a defense of atheism, writing in January that it was 'a rational concept to oppose any unscientific and irrational belief.'
Next day: A worker is pictured above cleaning the blood from the street where Roy was hacked down by his attackers
Together: The husband and wife were jumped by the gang after leaving an event. Rafida Ahmed was beaten, bruised, and lost a finger - but survived
The website was shut down in the wake of the attack and now displays a message in Bengali, which reportedly reads: 'We are in mourning, but not vanquished'.
Roy has also written several books - two of which had been launched earlier in the book fair he was visiting.
Roy's father, retired professor and secular activist Ajay Roy, called for harsh punishment of his son's killers, and said their actions were a sign of Bangladesh's declined.
He told reporters: 'The Bangladesh that was earned by the blood-sacrifice of the martyrs has now turned into a den of militants.
'I demand that the government immediately stops militant activities, vbbrings them to book and ensures exemplary punishment.'
Hundreds of students and activists gathered in Dhaka today to mourn Mr Roy's death and protest against the intimidation and murder of secular writers.
Outspoken: Roy was described as a 'free thinker' with a 'strong voice against Islamic fanatics,' by a friend
Islam is Bangladesh's state religion but the country is governed by secular laws based on British common law, and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has repeatedly said she will not give in to religious extremism.
Anujit Roy, his younger brother, said Roy returned to the country earlier this month from the U.S., and headed back in March.
Baki Billah, a friend of Roy and a blogger, told Independent TV that Roy had been threatened earlier by people upset at his writing.
'He was a free thinker. He was a Hindu but he was not only a strong voice against Islamic fanatics but also equally against other religious fanatics,' Billah said.
'We are saddened. We don't know what the government will do to find the killers. We want justice,' he said
Memorial: Tributes: People were today gathering at the spot where the blogger was ambushed and hacked to death
Similar attacks have taken place in Bangladesh, a Muslim-majority nation of 160 million people ruled by secular laws, in the past. Investigators have said religious fanatics were behind those attacks.
In 2013, another blogger, Ahmed Rajib Haider, who also spoke out against religious extremism, was killed by unidentified assailants near his Dhaka home.
In 2004, Humayun Azad, a prominent writer and a teacher of Dhaka University, was seriously injured in an attack when he was returning from the same book fair.
Writer Taslima Nasreen received death threats from Islam extremists in the mid 1990s.
'Avijit Roy has been killed the way other free thinker writers were killed in Bangladesh. No freethinker is safe in Bangladesh,' she said on her blog according to the BBC.
