Shafiur Rahman Farabi

Farabi Shafiur Rahman or Shafiur Rahman Farabi (Bengali: ফারাবি শফিউর রহমান, শফিউর রহমান ফারাবী) (born 1986) is Bangladeshi Bengali online Islamist blogger, activist and writer. He is said to be a member of Hizbut Tahrir Bangladesh. He used to write in blog and Facebook against Anti-Islamist secular blogger who used to criticize and moke Islam.

Early life

29-year-old Shafiur Rahman Farabi's father's name is deceased Ferdousur Rahman. He was born in 1986 at Baravila Kumarsheel Mor Kalaishripara village under Sadar Thana of Brahmanbaria District. In 1996, he passed Class V from Railway Government Primary School, Kishoreganj District, Kendua Jaihari Sky Government High School SSC in 2001 and HSC from Notre Dame College, Dhaka in 2005. His studies were stopped for two years due to mental problems. Admitted in Physics in Chittagong University in 2005-2006 session. In 2015 before prison, he was studying in his fourth year in this university.

Blogging

While studying at Chittagong University in 2010, Farabi was also arrested along with 24 students in the case of student protests against the salary increase of the authorities. Later, he was released on bail after spending a month in jail. Meanwhile, Farabi got involved with various organizations since he was admitted to the university. He was arrested several times earlier due to such incidents. Apart from this, he wrote to another Facebook friend of his by posting a picture with Abhijit Roy's wife and daughter and introducing them, this is the picture of Abhijit Roy, his wife Bonya Ahmed and his daughter. They all live in America. Earlier, after the murder of blogger Razib, Farabi was arrested with a provocative status on Facebook. On March 15, 2014, Farabi wrote on his Facebook page, "There is nothing new. Abhijit Roy's books are all copy-pasted from websites run by Christian Missionaries. Abhijit Roy steals the writings of this website and then translates it into Bengali and continues it under his own name. However, this Rokmari.com website is a sister concern of a different group. The office address of this Rokomari website is.." Farabi also threatened to remove Abhijit Roy's book from the website 'Rokomari.com', which has been operating on behalf of the extremists at various times. In the initial interrogation, Farabi also told the RAB detectives that for three-four years he has been very popular by writing about Islamic thoughts on various blogs. In the meantime, he started opposing various blogs of alleged atheist bloggers against his ideology. This is how his disagreements arise over religion against bloggers like Thaba Baba (blogger Ahmed Rajib Haider), Asif Mohiuddin, Avijit Roy, Taslima Nasreen, Daripalla Dhamadham (Storming scale), Digambar-Payagambar (Nude Prophet), Santunu Mahapatra, Agniveen, Allama Shaitan (honourable devil) (Mashiur Rahman), Santunu Adim, Pangan Devata and Hindu Yoddha.

Cases

In 2016, he was arrested in Avijit Roy murder case as a suspect, as he wrote on Facebook, “Avijit lives in America. It is not possible to kill him now. But he will be killed when he will be back in the country.” He also claimed Sheikh Hasina to be an atheist in 2012. Farabi also told RAB that on February 26 around 2.30 am, the day Abhijit was killed, he was sitting at his home working on his computer and chatting on Facebook. At that time, his Facebook friends asked to watch TV by making comments. A day or two later, when his involvement in Abhijit's murder was published in the newspaper, his mother asked him to leave the house and go somewhere else. He was also filed in case of Killing Ananta Bijay Dash and released from it in march 2022. In 30 January 2023, he got 7 years jail in case of Avijit Roy murder.

Support

Bangladeshi Islamists demanded his release in December 2024. Sheikh Ahmadullah claimed that, it is not logical to punnish someone like Farabi imprisonment for giving threat without proving that he is related to the assassination, and Farabi gave threat to Avijit because Avijit mocked Muhammad's wife Mary the Copt in extreme slang language.