--- description: "Will be back when feel safe" she tweeted title: Famed Bangladeshi Writer Flees to U.S. Amid Death Threats image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4d91283358cc1703/698852f3428a9eba95ccd89c/h_02561178.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Bangladesh](/tag/bangladesh/) ## Bangladesh Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Prominent Bangladeshi Writer Flees India for the U.S. After Death Threats by [Rishi Iyengar](/author/rishi-iyengar/) ## Rishi Iyengar Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jun 4, 2015 9:09 AM CUT  Bangladeshi author Taslima Nasreen at the press conference for the honorary doctorates 2011 of UCL in Louvain-La-Neuve, Belgium, on Feb. 2, 2011 Bangladeshi author Taslima Nasreen at the press conference for the honorary doctorates 2011 of UCL in Louvain-La-Neuve, Belgium, on Feb. 2, 2011Virgine Lefour—EPA by [Rishi Iyengar](/author/rishi-iyengar/) ## Rishi Iyengar Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jun 4, 2015 9:09 AM CUT Famed Bangladeshi writer and activist Taslima Nasreen, already in exile from her home country, fled even further away from it after reportedly receiving death threats from Islamic fundamentalist groups. Nasreen, who had been living in India since 2004 after leaving Bangladesh a decade earlier, arrived in the U.S. last week, according to a [statement](http://www.centerforinquiry.net/newsroom/amid%5Fdeath%5Fthreats%5Ffrom%5Fislamists%5Fcfi%5Fbrings%5Fsecular%5Factivist%5Ftaslima%5Fnasri/ "undefined") from a nonprofit organization that helped bring her into the country. Nasreen was “specifically named as an imminent target” by fundamentalist groups associated with al-Qaeda, the Center for Inquiry said. Such groups in Bangladesh have already murdered [three of the country’s secular bloggers](http://time.com/3855077/bangladesh-blogger-ananta-bijoy-das-murdered-hacked/ "undefined") this year, in what is turning into a growing [trend of intolerance](http://time.com/3764900/bangladesh-blogger-killed-washiqur-rahman-avijit-roy-machetes/ "undefined") against freedom of speech. Nasreen, an award-winning poet and author known for speaking out against extremist Islam, had left Bangladesh in 1994 after being targeted by fundamentalist groups. After the recent killings, followed by more threats against her life, Nasreen tweeted that she didn’t feel safe in Bangladesh’s western neighbor either. “Was threatened by Islamists who killed atheist bloggers in B’desh. Worried,” she said, [according](http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-32989070 "undefined") to the BBC. “Wanted to meet GOI (Government of India) but no appointment. Left. Will be back when feel safe.” ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3908578/bangladesh-taslima-nasreen-flees-u-s-bloggers-murdered/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3908578/bangladesh-taslima-nasreen-flees-u-s-bloggers-murdered/"},"headline":"Prominent Bangladeshi Writer Flees India for the U.S. After Death Threats","datePublished":"2015-06-04T09:09:05.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T07:54:03.960Z","description":"\"Will be back when feel safe,\" she tweeted","url":"https://time.com/3908578/bangladesh-taslima-nasreen-flees-u-s-bloggers-murdered/","keywords":["Bangladesh","India","U.S.","South Asia","Writer","murders"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4d91283358cc1703/698852f3428a9eba95ccd89c/h_02561178.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Rishi Iyengar","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/rishi-iyengar/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4d91283358cc1703/698852f3428a9eba95ccd89c/h_02561178.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Press conference for the honorary doctorates 2011 of UCL","caption":"Press conference for the honorary doctorates 2011 of UCL","creditText":"Virgine Lefour—EPA","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/bangladesh/","name":"Bangladesh"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3908578/bangladesh-taslima-nasreen-flees-u-s-bloggers-murdered/","name":"Prominent Bangladeshi Writer Flees India for the U.S. After Death Threats"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Global Risks You Should Care About Right Now","description":"A yearly look ahead about what you should—and shouldn’t—worry about in the geopolitical and economic landscape for 2015","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/PqXWqYtA/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2015-01-13T22:16:32.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/PqXWqYtA.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/3908578/bangladesh-taslima-nasreen-flees-u-s-bloggers-murdered/","duration":"PT4M20S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/3908578/bangladesh-taslima-nasreen-flees-u-s-bloggers-murdered/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```