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The killing of a Bangladeshi secular blogger has sparked widespread anger with his organisation staging demonstarations in Dhaka's busy Shahbag Square and elsewhere in the country on Friday.
Nazimuddin Samad, 28, a law student at Dhaka's Jagannath University, was shot and hacked to death on Wednesday night by unidentified assailants.
The slain blogger was buried at his family graveyard in Bangladesh's northeastern Sylhet region on Friday.
Nazim's brother Shamim Uddin, who came from London for the burial, said he was murdered for what his friends and family believe was criticizing fundamentalism.
To vent their anger, hundreds of people converged on Shahbag to rally for the second day on Friday.
Apart from activists from Samad's secular campaigning network Ganajagaran Mancha, many including teachers, writers and students also took part in the rally.
The protesters in Dhaka's iconic Shahbag Square, now christened "Projonmo Chattar" (Generation Square), chanted slogans and waved placards demanding the capture and punishment of those responsible for the murder.
The protesters, who wore black badge, marched through Shahbag streets, demanding justice for the secular blogger.
They carried banners bearing the bloodied face of the victim.
Also on Friday night Gonojagoron Mancha activists reportedly staged demonstrations in parts of Bangladesh.
The killing of Samad, who was on a hit list of bloggers that a group of radical Islamists made and published, was the latest in a series of killings of secular activists and bloggers in the country.
UN Human Rights Commission urged the Bangladesh government to take urgent, concerted measures to ensure the protection of all those being threatened by extremists.
The United States condemned the killing and said it was considering granting refuge to a select number of bloggers who face death threat.
Imran H Sarker, who leads Bangladesh's largest online secular activist group and is the head of the Bangladeshi bloggers association, said Samad was an active member of Ganajagaran Mancha.
He was openly critical of religion and Islamic fundamentalism.
His murder brings to six the total number of secular bloggers and activists killed in Bangladesh in a same fashion in the Muslim-majority country since last year.
No organisation has yet claimed involvement in Samad's killing, but banned militant group Ansarullah Bangla Team has claimed responsibility for the past murders.
