Amnesty International has demanded the swift release of aBangladeshi cartoonist arrested for allegedly mocking the ProphetMuhammad.
The case comes two years after a cartoon in Demark depicting him asa terrorist caused outrage in the Muslim world and led to globaldemonstrations.
In the Bangladesh incident, security officialsarrested Mohammed Arifur Rahman for allegedly insulting Islam afterhard-line groups protested against one of his cartoons.
He was detained in September and charged him with "hurting the religious sentiments of the people".
He was held for 30 days and his detention was later extended by three months.
Amnesty said Rahman faces a maximum two years in prison if he is convicted and wants him released.
Thehuman rights group said the former cartoonist for the newspaper ProthomAlo is "a prisoner of conscience" who was detained for exercising hislegitimate right to freedom of expression.
The government confiscated all copies of Alpin, the Prothom Alo supplement in which the cartoon was printed.
The popular daily paper apologised for publishing the cartoon and fired the cartoonist.
Bangladesh,a Muslim-majority nation of 150 million people, has previously bannedpublications for insulting Islam or the Prophet Muhammad.
Journalistsin Bangladesh are routinely threatened, assaulted or killed for writingabout political violence, corruption or organised crime, according tomedia rights groups.
Rahman's cousin questioned whether the cartoonist's arrest was legal, and said it had caused the family immeasurable hardship.
JewelAhmed said: "We have decided to file a writ petition with the HighCourt challenging the legality of his detention. He is the mainbreadwinner of the four-member family."
