Uwazi

Fifty-one academics, human rights activists and lawyers have issued a statement demanding the release of Rohingya photographer Abul Kalam, who they claim landed in jail on Thursday for taking photos of buses departing Kutupalong for Bhasan Char.

Photographer Abul Kalam was brought to the Senior Judicial Magistrate Court in Ukhiya on Thursday with charges of impeding officers from discharging their duties during an incident that happened over seven months ago, according to court documents obtained by The Daily Star.

Organisers said Kalam was sent to Cox's Bazar Jail by a magistrate on Thursday.

However, Public Prosecutor Faridul Alam of Cox's Bazar said he was not aware of any such development.

The Daily Star has not been able to independently verify whether Kalam was sent to jail.

The case in which Kalam has been accused was filed by Kutupalong Camp-in-charge Khalilur Rahman on June 1 last year, according to the first information report.

It said the accused assaulted officials and obstructed public servants from discharging their duties.

Khalilur Rahman's phone was found switched off last night.

The statement issued yesterday read, "On the morning of December 28, 2020, Abul Kalam, an award-winning photographer and Rohingya refugee, set out to take photographs of buses departing the Kutupalong camps for Bhasan Char. He was apprehended and then taken to the camp-in-charge in Camp 2W, Block D5 of Kutupalong, and subsequently, to the camp-in-charge of Kutupalong Registered Camp."

The signatories to the statement include Dr C R Abrar, eminent rights activist; renowned photographer Shahidul Alam; Sara Hossain, honorary executive director, Bangladesh Legal Aid and Services Trust; Dr Ambia Perveen, chair, European Rohingya Council; Professor Dina M Siddiqi, Faculty of Liberal Studies, New York University; Shireen Huq, coordinator, Standing with Rohingya Women, and founding member of Naripokkho; Ai Weiwei, Chinese contemporary artist and activist; and Bianca Jagger, a Council of Europe goodwill ambassador.

"Photography is not a crime. Abul Kalam was taking photographs of buses on their way to Bhasan Char. He was doing so in a public place, albeit in a refugee camp. The relocation to Bhasan Char is a widely publicised programme of the Bangladesh government. It is by no means a secret and has been extensively covered in the media," said the statement.

The statement said Abul Kalam has been a refugee in Bangladesh for 28 years.

"Abul Kalam is 35 years old. He originally came from Borgozbil, Maungdaw, Myanmar. He is a prolific photographer and has documented refugee life in recent years. His images have appeared in many publications, and he recently won two prizes in the Rohingya Photography Competition," said the statement.

"We call upon the authorities to release Abul Kalam unconditionally and without further delay," the statement said.

The case in which he was accused was filed against 10 named and 30-40 unnamed Rohingya refugees.

The forwarding letter presented to the court shows Kalam is one of those unnamed accused.

Pinaki Bhattacharya is an online human rights and political activist who writes critically about the current Bangladesh Awami League government. He was forced to leave Bangladesh in 2018 fearing detention by the military intelligence agency Directorate General Forces Intelligence and he now lives in France where he is a refugee. He has written an article for Netra News about the censorship of a book he wrote critical of the country’s independence leader.

Earlier today he wrote a Facebook status concerning harassment which his family is facing in Bangladesh

With Pinaki's permission, we are publishing his Facebook

Yesterday, a group of policemen went to my father's residence in Bogura and interrogated my old mother and uncle. In Dhaka, another group of police, who said that they were from Mirpur Model Police Station, landed in our residence. After they failed to find my wife at home, one police officer called her up on her mobile yesterday and interrogated her.

During the interrogation in Bogura, the policemen sought to know if I own any property there, what I do in France, how I earn my living, or support my life, among other queries. They also took the contact details of many of my relatives.

The police officer, who called up my wife, asked her in which clinics or hospitals she worked as a doctor and if and how she maintained communication with me. The officer also said to my wife that he wanted to get some more info about me from her. However, because of poor connectivity the mobile conversation was disconnected halfway. I am sure, police will get back in touch with my wife again very soon and attempt to harass her.

I understand that the Bangladesh Police is trying to catch hold of me. But, why would they interrogate or harass the members of my family for that? I would like to tell the authorities, including the police, that if they want to get info about me they indeed have ways to reach me while I am in France. You may send a message to my Facebook inbox. Your embassy in France can reach me if you want. You may even contact the French government.

If you feel troubled with my activism, you may act against me, if you want. But my family members are in no way connected to my activism? Why are you harassing them? Are the family members of any activist harassed anywhere in the world the way as you are doing in Bangladesh? During the armed struggle, just before Bangladesh was born, the barbaric Pakistani forces kept the family members of the main leader of the Liberation War Sheikh Mujib safe.

I am a political refugee in France. I felt unsafe in Bangladesh and I left my country being scared of my life. I indeed have the right to raise my voice against enforced disappearances, cross-fire killings and other human rights violations perpetrated by the Awami League-led government. I have the political right to speak against the authoritarian rule of Sheikh Hasina. My voting rights have been robbed in Bangladesh- I have the right to be vocal against this. You have no right to stifle my voice. All my activities are in the interest of human rights. You are putting pressure on my family members in a mischievous manner to force me away from activism. This is persecution. This is unethical.

I hope the international community, including the human rights groups, will intervene to help my family stay safe in Bangladesh.

Elias Mia, a correspondent of Daily Bijoy, was hacked to death on October 12 by miscreants in the Narayanganj district for allegedly exposing a criminal nexus in gas line distribution. The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) condemns the brutal murder and urges the Bangladesh government to bring the perpetrators to justice.

Mia, a 52 year old journalist, was stabbed with a sharp weapon in the Geodhara area of Bandar whilst returning home. Despite the best efforts of passers-by, who took the journalist to Narayanganj General Hospital immediately after the incident, Mia died of his injuries around 9:00pm on October 12.

Bandar Police Station stated that three suspects have been arrested —Tusher, Minnat Ali and Mishir Ali — for their involvement in the killing. Police have presented them before a local court following the incident. The Daily Bijoy editor Sabbir Ahmed argues that there is a strong connection between the murder of Mia and his past reporting. Investigators said one suspect’s family had previously accused Mia of providing information that lead to Tusher’s earlier arrest and detainment for drug possession. Tusher was also allegedly involved in managing illegal gas connections.

The journalist had formerly voiced feelings of insecurity relating to his past news reports. Local media details that Mia had filed a general diary with Bandar Police Station seeking security arrangements.

Mia is the second journalist to be killed in Bangladesh during 2020. Julhas Uddin, a correspondent of Bijoy TV, was murdered on September 3, 2020 after being stabbed.

A church official has joined a global rights watchdog to call on Bangladeshi authorities to stop harassing the parents of a prominent blogger who has been charged with breaching the controversial Digital Security Act.

Asad Noor was charged after supporting a Buddhist monk and a temple against alleged propaganda spread by a politician and Islamic radicals.

Noor, a Muslim turned atheist blogger, claimed that plainclothes policemen picked up six family members from his hometown of Amtoly in Barguna district on July 18.

�Police raided the house and picked up six family members including my parents. They were taken to Amtoly police station and were released on July 20,� BBC Bangla Service quoted Noor as saying on July 21.

"Police called me through my father and asked me to delete all video posts from my Facebook," said Noor, now based in India.Father Mintu Samuel Boiragi, coordinator of the Justice and Peace Commission in Barishal Diocese, which covers Amtoly, criticized the harassment of Noor�s family.

�This is unlawful, illogical and inhuman to harass people who committed no offense. If Noor is an offender, police should arrest him, not his family members. This culture of intimidation and harassment should be stopped," Father Boiragi told UCA News.

The South Asia wing of Amnesty International also condemned the treatment of Noor�s family.

�The Bangladeshi authorities must stop the harassment and intimidation of the patents of blogger Asad Noor, who have been targeted because of their son's human rights activism. Human rights defenders must be able to carry out their important work freely and without fear," the group said in a July 21 statement.

The news about the detention of Noor�s family members enraged Bangladeshi bloggers and online activists at home and abroad. They heavily criticized authorities for what they called �unfair and unlawful� police actions.

On July 14, a student leader linked to the ruling Awami League filed a complaint against Noor at Rangunia police station in Chittagong district for allegedly hurting the religious sentiments of local Muslims by video posts on Facebook.

In a recent video, Noor said that a fake Facebook ID for a Buddhist monk was created and used for anti-Islam posts recently as a part of a conspiracy to target him and the temple, with an aim to grab the temple property.

Noor also alleged that Ershad Mahmud, the younger brother of Information Minister Hasan Mahmud, was involved in a plot to enrage local Islamists to stage daily protests.

Shah Alam, head of Amtoli police station, denied allegations of harassment of Noor�s family members.

�Police did not harass Noor's family. In order to cooperate with Rangunia police, we went to his house with an arrest warrant for Noor, but he was not there. Nobody was arrested or picked up,� Alam told UCA News.

A prominent blogger faces a possible jail term for allegedly defaming Islam after he opposed political and Islamist propaganda against a Buddhist monk and temple in Chittagong, a south-eastern district of Bangladesh.

Asad Noor, a Muslim who turned self-declared atheist, was charged under the Digital Security Act (DSA), a controversial cyber law, for allegedly spreading rumors against Muslims amid an ongoing dispute between Buddhists and Muslims in the Rangunia area of Chittagong.

A leader of a local branch of the Chhatra League, the student wing of the ruling Awami League, filed the complaint against Noor on July 14, said Mahbub Milkey, the head of Rangunia police station.

�Asad Noor is accused of spreading rumors and defaming Islam via Facebook and other digital platforms,� he said on July 17.

Several hardline Islamist groups have been staging protests over the past few days, demanding a Buddhist monk called Sharnankar be punished for allegedly defaming Islam on Facebook. �The monk has fled the area, and we don�t know where he is now. We have deployed additional police in the area and will seek to avert any possible breakdown in law and order,� the police station chief said.

Noor, however, defended the monk in a video blog, saying that a fake Facebook ID for the monk was created recently as a part of a conspiracy to target him and the temple.

The aim was to grab the temple and the property. Noor also alleged that Ershad Mahmud, younger brother of information minister, Hasan Mahmud, was also involved in the plot.

�I have been accused of defaming Islam by hurting religious sentiments of Muslims because I have protested against a conspiracy against the Buddhist community here,� Noor said in a Facebook post on July 16.

�The fabricated charge against me shows there is no freedom of expression in this country, and the legal system is being exploited to cover up crimes and misdeeds of the ruling class and their cohorts,� he added.

Jyotirmoy Barua, a human rights lawyer, also alleged that there was a plot to target Buddhists in Rangunia similar to one in 2012 that sparked anti-Buddhist violence in the Ramu area of Cox�s Bazar.

�Rangunia is now the �Wild, Wild West� of Bangladesh. An unusual calm prevails in the area, and tensions are running high among local Buddhists and Muslims over the Buddhist monk and the temple,� he said.

�The monk is a man of meditation and prayer, and never uses Facebook. Those who protest against the conspiracy are being forced to leave the area, including local Muslims,� Barua said on July 16.

Holy Cross Father Liton H. Gomes, secretary of Catholic Bishops� Justice and Peace Commission, criticized the alleged attempts to target Buddhists as well as the blogger Noor.

�We have always feared the DSA was repressive and slated for abuse, and it continues to threaten free speech. What Noor said in his video could be countered in a similar manner without filing a lawsuit.

Also, the motives of Muslims protesting against the monk and the temple should be properly investigated,� Father Gomes said.

Bangladesh has experienced several bouts of communal violence against minority Buddhists and Hindus under the pretext of hurting religious sentiments of Muslims in recent years. In all cases, doctored Facebook pages were used to stoke tensions and violence.

In 2012, Muslim mobs destroyed 19 Buddhist temples and 100 Buddhist houses in the Ramu area of Cox�s Bazar and in Patiya, in Chittagong, after a Buddhist man was accused of defaming Islam on Facebook.

In 2013, local Muslims vandalized 26 Hindu houses in the Santhiya area of Pabna district, for Facebook posts defaming Islam, allegedly circulated by a 10th grader Hindu boy.

More recently, in 2017, Hindus in Thakur Para area of Rangpur district came under attack over Facebook posts allegedly made by a local Hindu man that allegedly defamed Islam.

A Cumilla Court today granted bail to a Union Parishad chairman in a case filed against him, among others, for allegedly attacking a journalist and his family members.

"Judge Golam Mahbub of Cumilla Cognisance Court-8 granted bail to UP chairman Shahjahan Mia today after he was produced before it following his arrest on allegation of attacking a journalist," Md Salauddin, court inspector of Cumilla, told our correspondent.

Police arrested Shahjahan Mia, chairman of Darera Union Parishad in Muradnagar upazila, hours after he allegedly attacked Shariful Alam Chowdhury, reporter of a local daily newspaper and general secretary of Muradnagar Press Club, at noon yesterday.

Chairman Shahjahan and his men attacked Shariful at his home in Kajiatol village under the union and hacked him with machetes, and also beat up his parents as they tried to save him, family members alleged.

Shariful is now undergoing treatment at Cumilla Medical College Hospital in critical condition.

"The patient sustained several critical injuries. Both his hands and legs are broken. There are at least seven fractures in his limbs. His condition is also deteriorating," said Dr Abdul Awal Sohel, resident surgeon of the hospital.

"After the incident, Shariful's father filed a case with the police station against UP Chairman Shahjahan among seven persons. We arrested him immediately afterwards and he was produced before the court today," said Monjur Alam, officer-in-charge of Muradnagar Police Station.

"Police also sent Shariful to Cumilla Medical College Hospital for treatment," the OC added.

"The UP chairman was angry as my son had published report on his corruption and nepotism, and in this connection he launched the attack on Saturday noon and left him injured. They also attacked us and our daughter as we tried to save him," said Shariful's father Abdul Matin, a freedom fighter.

"Shariful has been staying away from home for a while fearing attack by the UP chairman. He had returned home last week," Abdul Matin said.

"The attackers left our son severely injured," he also said, demanding justice over the matter.

Bangladesh�s military intelligence agency, the Directorate General of Forces Intelligence (DGFI), has established a sophisticated operation which secretly hacks the Facebook pages and profiles of opposition groups, political dissidents, student activists and journalists in apparent contravention of the country�s cybersecurity law.

Whistleblowers, who work as civilian contractors for the DGFI, provided Netra News with testimony and documentary evidence on how two special units within the agency � the Signal Intelligence Bureau (SIB) and the Public Relations Monitoring Cell (PRMC) � are engaged in hacking and other cybercrimes. Both these units rely on civilian contractors for �offensive cyber action� and are overseen by ranking military officers.

�We hack Facebook and [engage in other cybercrimes]. [DGFI handlers] set the target, we take action,� one of the whistleblowers told a Netra News editor. �Tough jobs are assigned to a team with access to sophisticated technology.�

The whistleblowers� claims are backed by recent comments from the Bangladeshi telecom and ICT minister himself, who boasted during a live interview with a TV reporter that hackers working for the government are monitoring and hacking political dissidents� Facebook profiles.

�This girl will be in trouble�

The DGFI�s involvement in hacking and other cyber crimes has long been suspected but detailed evidence of this activity came to Netra News recently when the student organisation Swatantra Jote invited Tasneem Khalil, the editor-in-chief of Netra News, to join its leader Auroni Semonti Khan in a discussion focusing on the Covid-19 epidemic and censorship in Bangladesh.

The discussion was slated to be broadcast live from the organisation�s official Facebook page on May 13th. A few hours before the Facebook Live, Khalil was alerted by an insider about a plan by the military intelligence agency�s Public Relations Monitoring Cell (PRMC) to disrupt the discussion.

�This girl will be in trouble,� the insider wrote to Khalil, and attached a screenshot of a Facebook post in which Semonti Khan was publicising her planned discussion with the journalist. The insider also told the editor-in-chief of Netra News that the DGFI considers him a �persona non grata� and anyone in Bangladesh who wants to host a Facebook Live with him will be subjected to coercive measures (major steps taken by the agency in escalating situations).

As part of the PRMC plan, online trolls were instructed by their handlers to swarm to Swatantra Jote�s official Facebook page and �take it down� with fake abuse reports. In an audio clip provided to Netra News by one of the whistleblowers, an individual can be heard saying, �Everyone must file abuse reports [to Facebook] under whatever categories � fake, violence � there are, apply everything.�

Following such mass-reporting by PRMC trolls, Facebook imposed restrictions on Swatantra Jote�s page. As administrators of the page were informed through a service notice, �Limits have been placed on [the page]. Stories from your page are not being shown in news feed.�

The trolls also flooded the page with abusive comments from hundreds of bot accounts (fake social media accounts used for automated comments and messaging).

The whistleblowers told Netra News that this is routine work for the PRMC�s online troll army. Civilian contractors, who maintain thousands of fake pages and accounts on Facebook, receive daily instructions on spreadsheets containing URLs of specific posts, pages and profiles to target. Most of these targets are critical journalists, political dissidents, and opposition figures.

�There is clear [division of labour] between teams,� one of the whistleblowers, who works as a PRMC troll, told Netra News. �This team does copyright, this team does violence, this team does comments, this team does accounts disabling.�

However, sophisticated hacking of a high-value target�s Facebook account or page is outside the remit of the PRMC and its troll army. Such tasks are handled by a special team of hackers who work for the Signal Intelligence Bureau (SIB) as civilian contractors. These hackers operate out of the DGFI headquarters inside the Dhaka Cantonment.

Netra News was provided with evidence indicating that the SIB was behind the hacking of the writer Pinaki Bhattacharya�s Facebook account in September 2018 (while he was in Bangladesh) and the hijacking of Swatantra Jote�s Facebook page in May 2020.

�Get all the Bhattacharyas�

The writer Pinaki Bhattacharya, according to the whistleblowers, has long been considered a high-value target by the DGFI, for his caustic criticism of the Awami League government. He is one of the select individuals whose Facebook profile is closely monitored by the PRMC on a �24/7 365 days� basis. The agency has also tried to muzzle his Facebook account by employing all the tools at its disposal including putting him under physical surveillance for months and asking him to appear at its headquarters for questioning. Bhattacharya left Bangladesh for exile in France in 2019.

Netra News was given a clip in which an individual boasts about the kind of access their team at the SIB has: �Take Pinaki Bhattacharya. Sirs [DGFI officers] tried everything, RAB tried. They even contacted Facebook citing a national security ground, but Facebook said there is no national security ground. [Facebook] would not give any personal information. [�] Then they [DGFI officers] said if needed get all the Bhattacharyas from the national ID card database [�] If we need [personal details of a target], we can [tap into that kind of source of] information.�

SIB hackers were finally able to hack Bhattacharya�s Facebook account in September 2018 by intercepting a two-factor verification code sent to his phone number. The whistleblowers told Netra News that only the �elite team� at the SIB has access to sophisticated technology which enables the hackers to intercept SMS messages containing verification codes for services like Facebook and WhatsApp. One of the whistleblowers said �it is very likely but not sure� that the SIB has direct access to the interception infrastructure at the National Telecommunication Monitoring Center (NTMC).

Coercive measure

According to details provided by the whistleblowers, and research by an independent forensic investigator who helped Netra News investigate the case, Swatantra Jote�s Facebook page was hijacked on May 13th after SIB hackers were able to hack into one of its administrator�s personal accounts by intercepting their two-factor verification SMS. This coercive measure was taken because the PRMC troll army could not deter the organisation from hosting the planned Facebook Live discussion between Auroni Semoti Khan and Tasneem Khalil.

One of the whistleblowers told a Netra News editor that SIB hackers maintain a �collection of hacked accounts� that they use for high-value hacking operations. These Facebook accounts belong to �regular people� who use easy-to-guess passwords. Once hacked, names on these accounts are often changed to well-known opposition figures, though the whistleblowers could not explain the exact reason for the name changes. One of the benefits of using such a hacked account, instead of registering a new account, is that these �regular people� accounts already have a large friends� list and a history � which also beats Facebook�s automated system of weeding out fake accounts.

Based on some technical details provided by a member of Swatantra Jote, an independent forensic investigator reconstructed the hacking and hijacking of the organisation�s page. According to this reconstruction, the hackers first took control of the personal account of one of the administrators of the Facebook page. They then relegated all the other administrators and editors of the page to the role of �advertiser� and added a new administrator and a new editor to the page. At least one of these two accounts � which is now named after a controversial BNP activist � belonged to a regular Facebook user who lost his account a few weeks back.

With the help of the forensic investigator, Netra News was able to track down this Facebook user in Comilla. The user, who is a businessman, told a Netra News reporter that his Facebook account was suddenly taken over by someone in early or mid April. As he could not access his account anymore, he registered a new account and moved on. He also does not know anything about Swatantra Jote, the organisation or its leaders.

On May 14th, Swatantra Jote held an online press conference and issued a press release condemning the �cyber attack� it was subjected to. A general diary (GD) has also been filed with the Boalkhali Police Station in Chittagong by a leader of the organisation in connection to this hacking incident.

After Swatantra Jote lost control of its page, Auroni Semonti Khan hosted the Facebook Live with Tasneem Khalil from her own Facebook profile in the evening of May 13th.

�Our boys and girls�

The government�s involvement in hacking is confirmed in a recent TV interview given by the Bangladeshi telecom and ICT minister, Mustafa Jabbar. The interview, broadcast live by Somoy News on April 3rd 2020, centered on actions taken by the Bangladeshi government against journalists and political dissidents (described as �conspirators� and �rumour mongers�) who criticise the government on Facebook.

�[Facebook] gives excuses in the name of so-called freedom of expression and other [rights], for which we face some inconveniences. However, we can also say that while Facebook acts as the authority, our boys and girls can identify who is doing what and take action against them without [any help from] this authority � we have been able to hack or terminate their [Facebook] IDs. It is a matter of pleasure,� the minister told a Somoy News reporter. �The people can rest assured that our team that is working, including the law enforcement agency, is extremely cautious, efficient, and technologically resourceful.�

During the interview, Somoy News showed screenshots of the Facebook profiles of two dissidents in exile and a journalist: Pinaki Bhattacharya (writer, in exile in France), Meer Zahan (former DGFI officer, in exile in France), and the Swedish-Bangladeshi journalist Tasneem Khalil (editor-in-chief of Netra News).

Pinaki Bhattacharya told Netra News that his Facebook account has been hacked thrice: on September 13th 2018, March 30th 2020, and April 2nd 2020 (the day before the interview was broadcast). Meer Zahan said his Facebook account has not been hacked in recent times. There is no indication that Tasneem Khalil�s verified Facebook profile was compromised in any way in recent years.

�Hacking related offence and punishment�

While Bangladesh�s telecom and ICT minister himself boasts about state-sponsored hacking during a live TV interview and the military intelligence agency targets dissidents, journalists and student groups for cyber attacks, hacking remains a punishable offence according to the country�s controversial cybersecurity law: the Digital Security Act of 2018.

Article 34 of the act, which is often touted by its proponents as an �anti-hacking law�, reads: �if a person commits hacking then it will be considered an offence and for this he will be sentenced to a term of imprisonment not exceeding 14 (fourteen) years or with fine not exceeding Taka 1 (one) crore or with both.�

The act also sets out specific punishments for other cyber crimes including �collecting, using identity information without permission�; �identity fraud or being in disguise�; �publishing, sending offensive, false or fear inducing data-information etc.�

According to a Bangladeshi jurist consulted by Netra News, the law does not make any exception nor does it indemnify government officials, military officers and civilian contractors who engage in hacking and other cyber crimes.

�I did not talk to any such reporter�

When Netra News contacted Mustafa Jabbar for his comment, he initially agreed to talk to Tasneem Khalil, the editor-in-chief of Netra News. In a recorded telephone conversation, Khalil asked him about the Somoy News interview and the claims about state-sponsored hackers hacking people�s Facebook accounts. Jabbar, the minister, immediately denied making any such statements.

Mustafa Jabbar: What? People working for the government are hacking IDs?

Tasneem Khalil: Yes, let me read the exact quote to you. You were telling the reporter Shuvo Khan�

Mustafa Jabbar: I did not talk to any such reporter.

Tasneem Khalil: Did you not talk to a Somoy News reporter? At your home, [broadcast] live?

Mustafa Jabbar: Did not talk.

Tasneem Khalil: I see. We actually have a video clip of the interview they broadcasted, where you are saying, �our boys and girls can identify who is doing what and take action against them without any help from this authority, we have been able to hack or terminate their IDs.� This�

Mustafa Jabbar: These things [inaudible] Somoy News interviews will be available with Somoy News. I do not wish to talk to you.

After a brief cross-talk, Mustafa Jabbar disconnected the call.

Response by Facebook

Netra News asked Facebook for its comment and received this response from a spokesperson: �We are committed to safeguarding the integrity of our services and take action on any attempt to gain unauthorized access to user accounts. We are working to secure [the Swatantra Jote page], and we encourage people to strengthen their security by turning on app-based two-factor authentication and alerts for unrecognized logins.�

�Not in my knowledge�

Netra News tried but could not reach the DGFI officers � both brigadier generals � in charge of the SIB and the PRMC. A DGFI staffer who received a call to its headquarters said �it was not in [his] knowledge� who could we talk to for an official comment about this story.

Auroni Semonti Khan of Swatantra Jote declined to comment.

Rapid Action Battalion arrested cartoonist Ahmed Kabir Kishore, writer Mushtaq Ahmed, and two others -- Didarul Islam Bhuiyan, an activist of a platform called 'Rashtrachinta', and Minhaz Mannan Emon, a businessman -- under the Digital Security Act, allegedly for making anti-government posts on Facebook, from the capital yesterday.

A team of Rab-3 handed Kishore and Mushtaq over to Ramna Police Station, Monirul Islam, officer-in-charge of the police station told The Daily Star this morning. Rab-3 also confirmed the matter.

Jamshedul Islam, investigation officer of the case, said the four were arrested from the capital's Kakrail and Lalmatia areas on charge of posting anti-government content on Facebook.

Later today, Rapid Action Battalion handed over Didarul Islam Bhuiyan and Minhaz Mannan Emon to Ramna Police Station in the evening, Jamshedul Alam, also a sub-inspector of the station, confirmed to The Daily Star.

"RAB handed over Didarul and Minhaz to police before Iftar this evening," he said.

A total 11 persons were accused in the case filed under the Digital Security Act.

Besides the four arrested, the seven others made accused in the case are: journalists Tasnim Khalil and Shahed Alam, Saer Zulkarnain, Ashiq Imran, Phillipp Schuhmacher, Shapan Wahid, and Asif Mohiuddin.

According to the case statement, a Facebook page named "I am Bangladeshi" is "trying to circulate propaganda and create confusion".

They were disseminating various misinformation, including rumours, through social media, Rab said, mentioning that the page is "creating confusion, instability and chaos among people".

According to Rab, Saer Zulkarnain, Kishore, Ashiq Imran, Phillipp Schuhmacher, Shapan Wahid and Mushtaq are the five admins who have been running the page.

Kishore was picked up from Kakrail area, while Mushtaq was picked up from his Lalmatia home yesterday, the police officer said adding that they will be produced before court today.

Kishore, a political cartoonist, posted several cartoons and posters on his Facebook account "Ami Kishore", criticising the government over the coronavirus situation. Mushtaq shared some of Kishore's cartoons on his Facebook profile.

Lipa Akhter, Mushtaq's wife, told The Daily Star, "Around five large vehicles with Rab personnel showed up at our residence in Lalmatia in the early hours of Monday, around 1:44 am. They said that they are from Rab-3. They took away Mushtaq around 3:00am and since then we had no idea where he was, or where he was being taken.

"Around 3:30am last night, two days after he was picked up, I received a call from Ramna Police Station saying that my husband is with them and that I was to come over to the police station and give him food," she added.

Mushtaq, who writes under the pen name "Michel Kumir Thakur", was critical of the "poor management in tackling the Covid-19 situation and the government" on social media.

A crocodile farmer and businessman, Mushtaq wrote a book titled "Kumir Chasher Diary" which was published in November 2018 and was working on another book.

Earlier, Didarul Bhuiyan was supposedly picked up from his house in Dhaka's North Badda yesterday evening.

A family source said some people came in two black microbuses before iftar. They were in plainclothes, but introduced themselves as Rab-3 members and said Didarul was being taken for interrogation.

Didarul is an IT specialist and owner of "ABAC Technologies", an outsourcing IT firm, located on the fifth floor of the same building. He wrote some critical posts on the state's decision to deal with coronavirus, controversy over masks and the distribution of funds and relief.

Contacted last night, Lt Col Md Sarwar-Bin-Quasem, director (Legal and Media) of Rab, told The Daily Star that an operation was underway and they would inform media after its completion.

He, however, did not disclose details.

At a press conference held live from Rashtrochinta office premises this morning, the organisation's member and a lawyer at the Supreme Court, Hasnat Qaiyyum, said, "We are requesting that Didarul be handed over to the police if there is any allegation against him. If there are no allegations, he should be released."

Didarul's family was present at the press conference.

Kishore claimed he was beaten and severely slapped by more than a dozen strangers who kidnapped him on May 2 and held him for nearly three days.

Kishore said the men questioned him about cartoons he drew mocking a powerful businessman close to the government, and a series of cartoons criticizing the government's response to the coronavirus pandemic. According to him, the strangers then handed him over to an elite police unit.

A Bangladeshi journalist reported missing in March as cases were being filed against him under the Digital Security Act is now in jail after officials said they found him near the border with India.

Border guards on Sunday arrested Shafiqul Islam Kajol, 51, as he walked into Bangladesh from India with no passport. Police brought him to a court in southwestern Jessore district, on the West Bengal border, and he was sent to jail, according to multiple accounts.

Bangladesh Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal, who oversees both police and the border guards, said Monday that he was flummoxed by the case.

�Actually, I do not know where he had been for 54 days. But he was arrested from the Benapole border while coming to Bangladesh from India. We have to investigate,� Khan told BenarNews.

�I spoke with my father. I do not know where he had been for 54 days. Now, our main target is to get him out of jail,� Kajol�s son, Monorom Polok, told BenarNews.

According to his lawyer, Kajol was initially granted bail on a charge of illegal entry, but was then rearrested under Section 54 of the Bangladeshi criminal code, which allows detention of a person based on �reasonable suspicion.�

�The court granted him bail for the intrusion case. Later, police told the court they had again arrested Kajol ... as he faced three cases under the Digital Security Act in Dhaka,� lawyer Debashish Das told BenarNews.

�The judge asked police to submit an updated report on existing cases against Shafiqul by May 19, and then he will rule about it,� Das said.

Missing since early March

Kajol, a photojournalist and editor of the fortnightly magazine Pokkhokal, had been missing since March 10, a day after a lawmaker with the ruling Awami League lawmaker Saifuzzaman Shikhor filed a criminal defamation suit against him and 31 others.

Awami League activists filed two more cases against Kajol on March 10 and 11. One of them accused Kajol of committing extortion by �obtaining information illegally� and publishing �false, intimidating and defamatory� material on Facebook and Messenger, according to Amnesty International.

The Digital Security Act, which went into effect in September 2018, includes harsh prison sentences for online defamation, insulting a person�s religion and other offenses. Critics have complained that it impedes free speech.

The Committee to Protect Journalists, a press freedom advocacy group, on Sunday urged police to release Kajol and drop all charges against him.

�Bangladesh police must immediately put an end to the long ordeal of journalist Shafiqul Islam Kajol, missing for 53 days, and release him from custody,� said Steven Butler, CPJ�s Asia program coordinator.

�Kajol is a victim, not a criminal. It�s an abuse of authority to subject Kajol to detention and interrogation.�

Kajol resurfaced on World Press Freedom Day, Amnesty International noted in a separate statement. It said that while many governments were justified in combatting misinformation about COVID-19, some were using the moment �as a pretext to crack down on critical voices.�

In Bangladesh, �at least 20 journalists have been recently intimidated, assaulted or harassed by members of the ruling party, and in some cases detained and accused of criminal offenses by the police for reporting pilferage, corruption and lack of accountability in the relief distribution meant for the poor during the lockdown,� it said, citing the Forum for Freedom of Expression, Bangladesh.

Amnesty noted that BenarNews itself had been blocked since it reported on an internal U.N. memo leaked in late March estimating that Bangladesh could see as many as two million deaths as a result of the pandemic without interventions.

A correspondent of a private television channel came under attack and two of his colleagues were intimidated when they were collecting information about misappropriation of rice intended for distribution among the poor at Raipura in Narsingdi on Thursday evening.

After being severely beaten up, journalist AH Bhuiyan Sajal, district correspondent of SA Television, was taken to Narsingdi District Hospital and he was undergoing treatment there until Friday evening.

He had severe wounds in his head, said Asian TV reporter in Dhaka Abdul Baten, who was accompanying Sajal during the incident at about 7:30pm.

Baten went there also to look into the allegations concerning misappropriation of public rice, meant for the poor people, against Amirganj union parishad chairman Nasir Uddin Khan.

Raipur police station officer-in-charge Mohsin Kadir said that although the injured journalist did not file any case, the police had started drives to catch the union council chairman.

Abdul Baten, who witnessed the scene but escaped the attack, said that they were working on an allegation that the chairman was swindling public rice instead of distributing among the poor people during the severe food crisis triggered by public holiday declared by the government to contain virus outbreak.

�After interviewing many poor people, we phoned the chairman for his comment and asked us to go to his office,� he said.

�A soon as we reached there, his men started beating my colleague. As I wanted to stop them, they took away our camera, mobiles and money. They threatened us with dire consequences,� said Baten.

�We apologised to them for our investigation and managed to save our camera and left the place with Sajal,� he added.

Nasir Uddin Khan was called many times on Friday on his official number for his reported involvement in assaulting journalists, but he did not respond.

A case was filed against two editors and two reporters under Digital Security Act for allegedly publishing news on misappropriation of government rice.

The accused were editor-in-Chief of bdnews24.com Toufique Imrose Khalidi, Jagonews24.com acting editor Mohiuddin Sarker and two local correspondents-- Shawon Amin and Rahim Shuvo, Baliadangi Upazila unit Sechhasebak League president Mominul Islam Bashani lodged the case with Baliadangi Police Station on Saturday night.

Habibul Haque Prodhan, officer-in-charge of the police station, confirmed the matter.

According to the case, local administration seized 68 sacks of rice meant for sale to the poor at Tk 10 per kilogram in Palashbari union parishad.

Upazila Food Controller Nikhil Chandra Barman filed a case with the police station in this connection on April 9.

Mominul in the case stated that accused Shawon Amin and Rahim Shuvo uploaded two posts on Facebook mentioning him as �rice thief�.

�Later, two reports were also published in bdnews24.com and Jagonews24.com involving me and my brother Aminul Islam Amin, chairman of Palashbari UP which tarnished his and the party�s reputation,� he added. Baliadangi Police Station OC Habibul Haque said the case was filed under Digital Security Act and they will investigate the matter.

A journalist has been physically assaulted allegedly by a union parishad chairman and his associates for publishing a Facebook Live video depicting irregularity in relief distribution in Habiganj.

The incident took place yesterday at Aushkandi area under Nabiganj upazila in the district, Upazila Nirbahi Officer Biswajit Kumar confirmed to The Daily Star.

Shah Sultan Ahmed, a correspondent of daily Dainik Pratidiner Sangbad and former president of Nabiganj Journalists' Forum, reported irregularities during relief distribution by Aushkandi UP Chairman Muhibur Rahman in a Facebook Live video on Monday, reports our Sylhet correspondent quoting Mujibur Rahman, a local journalist who was present there.

Muhibur and his men swooped on Sultan yesterday afternoon when he went to report the relief distribution work for the day and beat him up with a cricket bat, leaving him severely injured. Seven other journalists also sustained injuries while trying to save him, Mujibur, who was among them, said, adding that Sultan was admitted to the Upazila Health Complex for treatment.

"After the video was posted two days ago, the chairman complained me that he was being defamed by the journalist in the video and I asked him to wait until I look into the matter. But before I talked with both parties, the chairman and his men attacked the journalist when he went to the bazaar for reporting purposes," UNO Biswajit Kumar said.

"Following the incident, the relief distribution work was halted for today (Wednesday) and will resume tomorrow, he said.

"This is a heinous crime committed by the chairman and his men, who attacked the journalist. Even if the journalist had defamed him, the matter could have been settled in a lawful manner.

"Relief packages for 100 families included 10 kg of rice in each packet, which were given to the chairman for distribution. We also added some potatoes and lentils in 40 packets and asked the chairman to give them to the extremely poor families. This difference of packets created confusion and the journalist reported the anomaly," the UNO said.

"No case has been filed in this connection yet. We will look into the matter once a complaint is lodged in this regard," said Azizur Rahman, officer-in-charge of Nabiganj Police Station.

UP Chairman Muhibur Rahman could not be reached when this correspondent tried to contact him over the phone. Someone else answered the phone and said to call again later.

Motiur Rahman Munna, general secretary of Nabiganj Journalists' Forum, said, "We strongly protest such a heinous attack on a journalist and demand justice."

On Tuesday, one person was arrested in Bhola for physically assaulting a journalist after he reported about irregularities in relief distribution.

Bangladesh authorities should urgently locate the journalist Shafiqul Islam Kajol, who has been missing since March 10, 2020, Human Rights Watch said today. The day before he disappeared, Kajol was among those accused in a criminal case against a prominent news editor, Matiur Rahman Chowdhury, and 30 others under the draconian Digital Security Act.

On March 2, Chowdhury’s newspaper, the Manabzamin, published an article describing various lawmakers who, according to an unverified list, visited a sex trafficking ring allegedly operated out of a hotel in Dhaka by a member of the ruling Awami League party. Shifuzzaman Shikhor, a lawmaker and former aide to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, later filed the case against Chowdhury, Kajol, and others. While the newspaper did not publish any names, some people – including some of those accused by Shikhor – circulated this unverified list on Facebook, which included Shikhor’s name.

“The case of Shafiqul Islam Kajol is deeply concerning, particularly given the Bangladesh authorities’ record of abducting people and holding them in secret detention where their safety and lives are at risk,” said Brad Adams, Asia director. “The Bangladesh government should take immediate steps to locate Kajol and bring him to safety.”

Kajol’s family suspects he was abducted and has called on the authorities to help ensure his safe return. At a news conference on March 13, Kajol’s son said that his father left their home in Dhaka on his motorbike at about 3 p.m. on March 10 with two phones. When he did not return home, at around 10 p.m. they tried to call him, but both phones had been switched off. His motorbike has not been recovered.

“We don’t think my father went missing on his own,” Kajol’s son told Agence France-Presse. “We suspect he may have been abducted.” He said that the family had searched hospital emergency wards and filed a missing person complaint at the Chawkbazar police station on March 11. He also said that the family met with the Detective Branch of the police to ask if Kajol had been arrested because of the case filed against him, but officers there said that none of the 31 people named had been held.

Bangladesh authorities have a history of arbitrary detentions and forced disappearances. While some people are later released or formally taken into custody, officials have in some cases said they were killed in alleged gunfights with the security forces or in crossfires. The Bangladeshi human rights organization Odhikar reported that security forces have forcibly disappeared over 550 people over the last decade of the Awami League’s rule. Many of these victims were targeted as members of the political opposition. In recent years, however, there have been cases in which security forces have disappeared individuals in what appear to be the result of personal retribution by members of the ruling elite. Enforced disappearance – the deprivation of liberty by government officials or their agents and concealment of the fate or whereabouts of the person in custody – is prohibited under international human rights law.

The international community and Bangladesh civil society have repeatedly called on the government to repeal the vague and overly broad segments of the Digital Security Act, which facilitates abuse. While the act limits defamation charges to those that meet the requirements of criminal defamation in the penal code, it is contrary to a growing recognition that defamation should be considered a civil matter, not a crime punishable with imprisonment.

“Bangladeshis should not live in fear of abduction if they share something on Facebook,” Adams said. “The government needs to seriously investigate the many cases in which family members allege that the victim was picked up by security forces but whose whereabouts remain unknown.”

Kurigram based journalist, Ariful Islam was arrested at midnight on March 13 and sentenced within a few hours by a “mobile court”. The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) condemns the imprisonment and the dubious use of mobile courts.

Bangla Tribune correspondent, Ariful Islam was arrested at around 11:45 pm for alleged possession of 450ml of liquor and 100g of hemp. Mostarima Sardar, Ariful’s wife said, “The door was broken open in the middle of the night, Ariful was beaten up and then forcefully taken away. They didn’t find any drugs.” Ariful was taken to the Kurigram deputy commissioner’s office where reports state he was tortured. Within two hours of the arrest, he was convicted and sentenced by a mobile court to one year in prison and fined BTD 50,000 (USD 560). Nazim Uddim, one of the magistrates who was said to have been present at the arrest of Ariful has denied taking part in the conviction. According to the Dhaka Tribune, the magistrate claimed they were not working that night.

Ariful’s family and members of the media accuse police of convicting Ariful in retaliation to an article he published on the misuse of power by Kurigram deputy commissioner Sultana Pervin.

Bangladesh’s mobile courts have repeatedly been challenged for being unconstitutional, often being described as a punitive task force rather than a judicial body.

Ariful’s conviction follows a similar incident on March 10 where the Digital Security Act is being used to prosecute Matiur Rahman Chowdhury, editor in chief of Manabzamin Daily, and 31 other media workers, including missing journalist Al Amin who disappeared a day after the accusation was made.

Bangladesh Manobadhikar Sangbadik Forum (BMSF) said: “We condemn the mobile courts’ decision.” BMSF plan to protest the court decision until Ariful’s release.

The IFJ said. “The arrest and decision of the mobile court is not above judicial scrutiny and must be put before a trial to ensure due process has been followed. The mobile court is a façade seeking to undermine press freedom and journalists’ role in holding government institutions accountable. The IFJ urges authorities to immediately release Ariful and strip the archaic mobile court of their powers to arbitrarily prosecute.”

At least 15 journalists were beaten, threatened, denied access to polling stations, or had equipment broken or taken while covering the mayoral and ward councilor vote, according to reports. Separately, over 30 complaints of election irregularities, including voters being denied entry to polling stations or people standing outside centers with firearms, were reported to the Election Commission on February 1, according to the Daily Star.

The Dhaka police did not immediately respond to CPJ’s email requesting comment on the attacks on the press.

“Journalists provide an essential function in reporting on and documenting whether elections are free and fair, and they must be able to do their jobs safely,” said Aliya Iftikhar, CPJ’s senior Asia researcher. “Bangladeshi authorities must immediately investigate and bring to account all the perpetrators of violence against journalists who were covering the Dhaka elections.”

Mahabub Momtaji, a staff reporter at the Bangla newspaper Bangladesh Pratidin, and Nurul Amin, a reporter for the newspaper The Business Standard, had their phones taken and material deleted at a polling station by people whom the Daily Star described as supporters of Bangladesh Chhatra League, the student arm of the Awami League. The newspaper reported that Shahidul Islam Khan Riyad, vice president of the Dhaka South Chhatra League, held the journalists for over an hour and a half at the polling center on February 1. The journalists filed a report with the police and Riyad was suspended for breaching organizational discipline, according to news reports. The reports of the incident did not specify why the journalists were held.

The Bangladesh Chhatra League did not immediately respond to CPJ’s request for comment sent via email. CPJ was unable to locate contact information for Riyad.

Mostafizur Rahman Sumon, a crime reporter of online news portal Agami News, was attacked while taking photos of a gathering of Awami League activists at Zafrabad in Mohammadpur this morning.

Followers of AL-backed councillor candidate Md Hossain Khokon hit him in the head with a sharp weapon and snatched away his phone, according to witnesses and fellow journalists.

Sumon was first taken to the Sikder Medical College Hospital and was later transferred to Dhaka Medical College Hospital.

He got six stitches on his head and was barely speaking, according to Inspector Bachchu Mia, in-charge of DMCH Police Outpost.

While visiting Banani Bidya Niketon School and College in the afternoon, Inspector General of Police Mohammad Javed Patwary called upon his officials to take necessary actions regarding the incident without delay.

Talking to reporters at the hospital, Sumon said he was attacked when he was taking photos of a procession brought out by AL followers of ward no-34 on Sadeque Khan Road in Mohammadpur’s Rayerbazar around 11:00am.

Members of the procession, who were mostly 18 to 20 years old, were carrying firearms, he said. “They pushed me on the road and beat me up as if I was a dog,” he added.

“I want to work independently. We are working for the sake of the country. We want assurance that we can do our job without resistance,” he said.

A correspondent of Press Bangla Agency (PBA) was also beaten up while covering city corporation elections at Nikunja Jan-e-Alam School around 10:30am, Ibrahim Sarker, a special correspondent of the agency, said.

PBA Special Correspondent Zisad Ikbal was attacked by Awami League activists when he entered the centre following information on irregularities, Ibrahim told The Daily Star.

The photojournalist was taken to Kurmitola Hospital in Dhaka with critical injuries, he said.

Ain O Salish Kendra (ASK) has expressed deep concern over Rajuk’s mobile court drive yesterday that fined and ordered the rights organisation to leave its Lalmatia office in two months.

The mobile court led by Rajuk Executive Magistrate Jasmin Akhter conducted the drive at the building that houses the ASK office around noon. At one point, she went to the office and asked why the rights body was running its office in a residential area, said ASK in a statement.

ASK authorities presented all the documents of renting the office and stated that they maintained all the agreements as tenant, and that it is not a commercial organisation.

Besides, there are many business entities, schools and other social welfare-related organisations in the area, they pointed out.

Despite that, the magistrate fined ASK Tk 2 lakh and ordered them to leave the building in two months. The magistrate did not give ASK a copy of the order, despite a written request, the statement added.

“Such drive against a rights body is a matter of serious concern and worries ASK,” said Sheepa Hafiza, its executive director. She said ASK was established in 1986 and has been working tirelessly to uphold the rights of people.

“We apprehend that such drives of Rajuk will shrink the activities of rights bodies such as us,” she said.

The bruises on his body speak of the cruelty Abrar Fahad suffered. His hands, legs and back -- injury marks were everywhere.

The second-year Buet student died after he was brutally beaten allegedly by some Chhatra League leaders at a university dormitory sometime between 7:00pm Sunday and 2:30am yesterday.

The incident triggered a firestorm of protests on campuses across the country. Many took to the social media to demand justice for Abrar.

Law enforcers suspect the 22-year-old student of the university’s electrical and electronic engineering department was attacked because of one of his recent Facebook posts, which seemed critical of some recent deals with India.

They said 10 members of Buet BCL were arrested in connection with the murder.

The arrestees include the chapter’s General Secretary Mehedi Hasan Rasel and Joint Secretary Muhtasim Fuad, who is also the vice president of the university’s BCL Sher-e-Bangla Hall unit.

“They have been taken into police custody,” Chawkbazar police station Officer-in-Charge Md Sohrab Hossain told The Daily Star.

Last night, Abrar’s father Barkat Ullah filed a murder case against 19, including the arrestees, with the police station.

Talking to this newspaper, police and one of Abrar’s roommates said Abrar returned to his room at Sher-e-Bangla Hall from his home in Kushtia around 5:30pm on Sunday.

He was studying when some BCL activists of the dormitory suddenly asked him to come out after 7:00pm.

“I was also studying and I thought they were calling Abrar for something very casual. I did not suspect anything bad,” Abrar’s roommate Shaikat said.

Wishing not to be named, another student of the hall, said the BCL leaders in question instructed some third-year students of the dormitory to take Abrar to room number 2011, where he was assaulted.

Talking to reporters, Buet BCL leaders said Abrar was called for “questioning” over his alleged involvement with Shibir, student front of the Jamaat-e-Islami.

Abrar’s family members said he had nothing to do with Jamaat or Shibir.

Ashikul Islam Bitu, assistant secretary of Buet BCL, said, “Abrar was called in to room number 2011 [on the first floor].”

He said Abrar was quizzed by Mujtaba Rafid, deputy office secretary of Buet BCL; Ifty Mosharraf Shakal, social welfare secretary; and Amit Shaha, deputy law secretary, of the same unit.

Later, some fourth-year students were asked to go to the room. Buet BCL Sports Secretary Meftahul Islam Zion, Information and Research Secretary Anik Sharkar also went there, he said.

“At one stage, I left the room. Maybe, they beat him up after that. Later around 3:00am, I heard that Abrar was dead,” said Bitu.

Students found Abrar’s body on the staircase between the ground floor and the first floor around 2:30am yesterday. They called the hall provost and the resident doctor who declared him dead. The authorities then informed the matter to police, said Kamal Hossain, DMP additional deputy commissioner of Lalbagh division.

According to DB sources, Buet BCL’s Publication Affairs Secretary Ishtiaque Munna, a student of the mechanical engineering department, was the first to notice the Facebook post of Abrar.

In the post, uploaded at 5:32pm on October 5, Abrar apparently criticised some recent agreements with India on the use of Mongla Port, water sharing and gas export.

Munna told six other BCL leaders of batches 16 and 17 to take Abrar to room number 2011. Two of them, from batch 17, followed the order, the sources said.

As Abrar stepped inside the room, BCL leaders took away his mobile phone. They checked his Facebook, messenger and started interrogating him.

They slapped him and then started beating him mercilessly, said DB officials, quoting the arrestees.

Abrar eventually passed out.

Then they took him to a nearby room (room number 2005) which belonged to Munna. After Abrar’s condition worsened, they left him in the staircase, the sources said.

Some students of the hall said Mujtaba Rafid, Ifty Mosharraf Shakal and Amit Shaha live in room number 2011.

Amit, Rafid, Ifty and some third-year students were present at the room when Abrar was beaten, they said.

A Buet physician, Dr Mashuk Elahi, told reporters, “Some students of the hall called me over my phone around 3:00am. Abrar was dead by the time I found his body at the staircase.”

As the news spread, hundreds of Buet students took position in front of the provost office, demanding immediate arrest and punishment of the killers.

They alleged a video clip of a CCTV installed at the hall was missing and demanded that the footage be shown to everyone.

Later in the evening, the footage went viral. It shows three youths, believed to be Buet students, carrying Abrar on a corridor and taking him towards the staircase.

A youth is seen walking next to them while six others are behind.

It is not clear whether Abrar was dead or alive at that time.

Meanwhile, Buet authorities have formed a probe committee, comprising several teachers, to investigate the murder.

In a press release, the authorities said a general diary was filed with Chawk Bazar Police Station in connection with the murder.

Last night, Chhatra League expelled 11 leaders and activists of the Buet unit on charges of their involvement in an “unfortunate” incident.

Most of the accused were arrested.

Following autopsy, Sohel Mahmud, head of forensic medicine department at Dhaka Medical College, said, “We saw injury marks all over Abrar’s body.”

“Heavy bruises were found on his hand, legs and back,” he said, adding that it seemed the victim was beaten with objects like sticks or cricket stumps.

The student died of internal bleeding and excessive pain, he said.

Abrar’s relatives and fellow students thronged the DMC morgue.

Talking to reporters there, Abrar’s aunt Shahara Banu sobbed, “Parents sacrifice a lot to raise a child and get him or her admitted to an institution like Buet. A life cannot be lost this way. I am lost for words.

“The only thing I want now is the highest punishment to the killers.”

Abrar’s father Barkat Ullah entered the Buet campus in tears around 4:45pm. He went to the provost’s room and stayed there for more than an hour. He also went to the room where his son was tortured.

“I want justice,” he said and broke down in tears.

As the news of Abrar’s death spread, protests spread fast on campuses of Buet, Dhaka University, Jahangirnagar University, Jagannath University and Rajshahi University.

They said they will continue protest today and will announce further demands and ultimatums.

On Dhaka University campus, students led by Ducsu Vice President Nurul Haque Nur held banners and chanted slogans on the foot of Raju Sculpture demanding justice for Abrar.

At Rajshahi University, students staged an hour-long demonstration in front of the university’s main gate, blocking Dhaka-Rajshahi highway from 1:30pm.

At Jahangirnagar University, students formed a human chain and staged demonstration protesting the killing.

Throughout the day, Buet students demonstrated for footage of the CCTVs installed at the Sher-e-Bangla Hall.

To calm them down, police officials and hall authorities said that the footage would be shown soon.

In the evening, police, however, refused to show the footage to protesters citing the ongoing investigation. This angered the protesters who tried to confine some DMP officials.

Additional policemen were called in but they could not enter the campus. The police officials finally managed to leave after the full footage was handed over to the students.

Later in the day, the protesters brought out a procession slamming the university authorities for their role.

At that time, they voiced several demands which included expulsion of the killers, their highest punishment and steps for protecting people with “different opinions”. They also demanded that killers be tried at the speedy trial tribunal.

Abrar’s first namaz-e-janaza was held at Buet Central Mosque around 10:00pm. Later, an ambulance carrying the body left for Kushtia for burial.

Bangladesh's giant garment industry, which supplies a number of brands including H&M, Walmart, Gap, and others, is notorious for its low wages. But for countless workers who rely on those jobs to survive-even with the low wages-it has been a lifeline. Now some 5,000 workers or possibly more have lost their jobs, following massive protests in the country to demand higher pay, in what workers' advocates frame as retaliation for the protests, but industry representatives call a response to acts such as looting and vandalism. Among the factories that have fired workers, according to one workers' rights group, are some that supply well-known foreign brands. In January, as many as 50,000 garment workers in the capital Dhaka staged strikes and took to the streets in massive demonstrations over the low wages they receive. Many were dissatisfied following the government's move in November to raise their monthly minimum wage to 8,000 takas ($96), up from the previous 5,300 takas ($63). Some groups had demanded much more, including trade unions and workers' rights organizations that campaigned for a minimum of $193 per month, and others were unhappy about a discrepancy in the increase between junior and senior workers. Police used rubber bullets, tear gas, and water cannons to disperse the crowds. After one violent clash, one person was left dead and 50 others injured. After the protests, one senior police official told Al Jazeera on condition of anonymity that 4,899 workers were dismissed from their jobs. Kalpona Akter of the Bangladesh Center for Worker Solidarity told the Associated Press that they knew of at least 5,000 workers who had been fired, but the true figure could be up to 7,000. "The government is undertaking measures to intimidate workers and squelch any attempt of workers to organize," Ben Vanpeperstraete of the Clean Clothes Campaign, an alliance of trade unions and non-governmental organizations that advocates for workers in the garment industry, told Al Jazeera. According to a spokesperson for the group, factories supplying foreign brands were among those that had fired workers. It named as an example Metro Knitting and Dyeing Mills-a supplier to brands such as Next and H&M-which confirmed terminating 287 workers. The Daily Star reported that workers were given 45 days of wages and dismissed on the condition that cases filed against them over the protests would be dropped. In a statement, H&M said it considers "freedom of association to be a non-negotiable human right. It is a key component of our Sustainability Commitment and a fundamental requirement for all our business partners." The company added that is "deeply concerned by the recent events in the Bangaldeshi textile industry." Next said it is aware of the situation and its "directly employed audit staff on the ground in Bangladesh are currently investigating this matter." It added that it is a member of the Ethical Trading Initiative (ETI), which works to ensure fair supply chains and has a code of labor practices, and that the group is also aware of the claims. We have reached out to Metro Knitting and Dyeing Mills and the ETI for comment and will update this post with any reply. Representatives of the garment industry have framed the matter differently. "Some of the workers were involved in vandalism, looting, and other crimes," Siddiqur Rahman, president of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association, told the AP. "They will damage our factories, they will destroy very expensive equipment, they will smash our vehicles and beat our officials. Should not we report it to police? If you are the owner what would you do?" Union leaders and other workers' advocates have argued that the government has an incentive to keep wages low in the industry, which accounts for about 83.5% of Bangladesh's exports and has made Bangladesh the second-largest garment exporter in the world behind China. Its main competitive advantage has long been how cheap a source of labor it is. But they also say workers want these jobs, as they're vital to many of the 4 million people employed in the industry. They just want better pay for doing them.

Bangladesh authorities made a series of new arrests in their crackdown on the right to free speech, Human Rights Watch said today. The arrests were based on vague charges such as "hurting religious sentiment" or undermining "law and order." Those arrested include Abdul Kaium, a human rights activist; Henry Sawpon, a well-known poet; and Imtiaz Mahmood, a lawyer. All three were detained and charged under section 57 of the draconian Information Communication and Technology (ICT) Act or its more abusive successor, the Digital Security Act 2018. "Arresting activists, poets, and lawyers for exercising their right to free speech is straight out of the authoritarian playbook" said Brad Adams, Asia director. "The Bangladesh government should stop locking up its critics and review the law to ensure it upholds international standards on the right to peaceful expression." A group of writers, artists, and journalists staged a protest in Dhaka's Shahbagh square on May 15, saying they would go on an indefinite strike beginning on May 17 if Sawpon and Mahmood were not released. Both Sawpon and Mahmood were granted bail on May 16; Kaium remains in detention. The ICT Act was widely criticized for granting police wide-ranging powers to make arrests on broad and vaguely defined grounds for any electronically published content, effectively curbing lawful criticism and dissent. Section 57 of the ICT Act authorized the police to arrest anyone without warrant for online content that could be interpreted as defamatory; could cause "deterioration in law and order;" prejudices the image of the state or a person; or "may cause hurt to religious belief." It has been used to arrest people for actions as trivial as "liking" a comment on Facebook. In September 2017, Muhammad Nazrul Islam Shamim, special public prosecutor of the Cyber Tribunal created under the ICT Act, acknowledged that some cases brought under section 57 had been "totally fabricated and - filed to harass people." Mahmood was arrested at his home in Dhaka on May 15, 2019, on charges that police had filed in July 2017 under the ICT Act over a Facebook post about violence in Bangladesh's Chittagong Hill Tracts titled "Hill Bengali residents and law enforcers." There have been serious allegations of human rights violations by the military deployed in the Chittagong Hill Tracts in southeastern Bangladesh, where much of the country's indigenous population lives. But Shafiqul Islam, a trader, filed the case against Mahmood under the ICT Act accusing him of spreading rumors with an "ill motive to tarnish the country's image" hurting "religious sentiment" and "deteriorating the law and order." The high court granted Mahmood conditional release (anticipatory bail), meaning he was granted bail without arrest, on July 25, 2017. But without explanation, the Khagrachari court, in the Chittagong area, had issued an arrest warrant against him under the 2017 case on January 21. Mahmood's arrest is of particular concern because the ICT Act was revoked in October 2018 and replaced with the Digital Security Act, which the government claimed would end arbitrary arrests. Instead, the new law tightened the government's chokehold on free speech. Under the new law, "propaganda or campaign against the liberation war, the spirit of the liberation war, the father of the nation, national anthem, or national flag" is punishable with life in prison. The Bangladesh's Editor's Council, an association of newspaper editors, has said that the law effectively prohibits investigative journalism. Kaium, an activist with the prominent human rights organization Odhikar, and editor of news portal Mymensinghlive, was arrested on May 12 and denied bail on May 13. Idris Ali, an influential madrassah teacher, filed a case, accusing Kaium of extortion under the penal code and dissemination of "false or fear inducing information/data" (section 25) and defamation (section 29) under the Digital Security Act. Odhikar had previously faced threats and intimidation from the government under the ICT Act. In September 2013, its founder, Adilur Rahman Khan, and director, A.S.M Nasiruddin Elan, were charged with "publishing false images and information" and "disrupting the law and order situation of the country." In January 2017, the High Court of Bangladesh rejected a petition to quash the charges. Sawpon was arrested at his home in Barisal on May 14 under the Digital Security Act. Sawpon is accused of "hurting religious values or sentiments" (section 28), defamation (section 29), and "causing deterioration of law and order" (section 31). The case was filed with the police by a priest of a local Catholic church over Sawpon's Facebook posts criticizing a church event the day after Sri Lanka's Easter Sunday attack. In the offending post Sawpon wrote that it was "very unfortunate" that Bishop Lawrence Subrata Howlander had arranged a cultural program in the wake of the attack and that "Bishop Subrata was playing the flute when Rome was burning." Sawpon could face up to 15 years in prison. Two others, Alfred Sarkar, 52, and Jewel Sarkar, 40, were also accused in the case just for commenting on the Facebook post. "This week's arrests show how small the space has become for civil society in Bangladesh" Adams said. "Sheikh Hasina's government should revise the abusive elements of these laws before the space for peaceful expression disappears entirely."

Poet-journalist Henry Swapan, who was sued for hurting religious sentiment under the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Act, was arrested from his residence in Barishal city yesterday. He was sent to jail after arrest at 2:30pm. Commissioner of Barishal Metropolitan Police Md Shahabuddin Khan said the priest of a local Catholic church filed a case against Swapan for "hurting religious sentiments of both Christians and Muslims" on social media. The allegations were primarily found true, he added. Before his arrest, Swapan told local journalists that he posted a status on Facebook, criticising a cultural programme on Easter Sunday (April 21) at a local Catholic church because dozens of people were killed in a terrorist attack on the same day in Sri Lanka. Some Christians got angry due to the post, he said. "Some miscreants even gave me death threats... I went to Kotwali Police Station to file a general diary but they refused to register my GD." Meanwhile, local journalists brought out a procession in Barishal city yesterday, demanding Swapan's release. Barishal Reporters Unity, Barishal Sangabadik Union, and Barishal Sanskritik Sangathan Samannaya Parishad organised the programme. The journalist organisations, including Barishal Press Club, also declared to boycott their scheduled meeting with police today.

Supreme Court lawyer Imtiaz Mahmood was sent to jail by a Dhaka court yesterday, hours after police arrested him in a case filed under section 57 of the ICT Act about two years ago over his Facebook posts. Police picked him up from his Banani home in the morning in compliance with an arrest warrant issued by a Khagrachhari court on January 21, court sources said. Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Satya Brata Sikder passed the order after Sujan Saha, sub-inspector of Banani Police Station, produced the arrestee before the court. In July 2017, one Shafiqul Islam filed the case against Imtiaz with Khagrachhari Sadar Police Station on charges of hurting his sentiments and inciting communal violence in the Chattogram Hill Tracts. During hearing on a bail petition yesterday, Imtiaz's lawyer Asaduzzaman Rachi told the court that his client was granted bail by the High Court till the submission of the probe report in the case. Possibly the HC order did not reach the Khagrachhari court and that was why the court issued the arrest warrant and police arrested him

A General Diary has been filed at a police station in Dhaka over "threat by a militant group to kill' three eminent citizens. Rights activist Sultana Kamal filed the GD on Saturday, Dhanmondi Police Station OC Abdul Latif told bdnews24.com. The two others, who had received "death threat', are Dhaka University's history Professor Muntasir Mamun and Ekattorer Ghatak Dalal Nirmul Committee chief Shahriar Kabir. A militant group called "Lone Wolf' in its publication detailed possible ways to kill the three, OC Laatf said, citing the GD. Prof Mamun told bdnews24.com he was out of Dhaka and would also file a GD seeking security after returning home on Sunday. Shhriar Kabir said he had already written to Inspector General of Police Mohammad Javed Patwary seeking security for Kamal and Mamun. The "death threat' published by the militant group was being circulated on social media, Kabir said. "This is an alarming issue. The government really has no control over social media" he added.

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) calls on the Bangladeshi authorities to unblock access to TheJoban, a Bangladeshi news website that has been blocked in Bangladesh since 21 March, after reporting allegations that the prime minister's security adviser was involved in the disappearance of three men. We weren't notified our site was suddenly blocked" TheJoban subeditor Mashqur Ratul said. The mainly Bengali-language site got the details for its report from a story published the previous day on the Al Jazeera English website, access to which was entirely blocked within Bangladesh. TheJoban sent a request to the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) on 23 March asking to be unblocked but has yet to receive a reply. "This blocking clearly jeopardizes our work" Ratul told RSF. "We are about to lose our jobs. We just want to work freely." The government denies any blocking. "We call on the authorities to end this utterly brazen act of censorship by immediately unblocking access to TheJoban" said Daniel Bastard, the head of RSF's Asia-Pacific desk. "The blocking is endangering an independent media outlet that helps to keep Bangladeshi democracy alive and is symptomatic of an alarming trend in Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's government, which is increasingly unable to tolerate journalists who do their duty by investigating the activities of its members." New system When they wanted to censor a website by blocking access, the Bangladeshi security agencies had until now maintained a semblance of following procedure by sending instructions to the BTRC, which then passed the blocking request on to Internet access providers. But in this case, it was the government that directly cut access to both sites a few hours after the publication of the offending articles, without turning to BTRC. In late February, the authorities ordered the blocking of somewhereinblog.net, a very popular Bengali-language blog platform, on the pretext that this required for a campaign against online pornography and gambling. Before the December 2018 elections, the government also ordering the blocking of 54 independent or opposition sites on the grounds of preventing the spread of "fake news." Bangladesh is ranked 146th out of 180 countries in RSF's 2018 World Press Freedom Index.

Mushfiqur Rahman has been missing since the evening of 3 August, when he was last seen in CCTV footage getting on the back of a motorcycle-taxi. That was after leaving his office at Mohona TV at around 5 pm, dining with his uncle in the residential neighbourhood of Gulshand and talking with his wife, Salma Rahman, by telephone.

“I talked to my husband at 7:03 pm over the phone. He spoke normally,” she told the Daily Star newspaper. His mobile phone was turned off at around 9 pm.

Rahman’s mysterious disappearance occurred two weeks after he received a death threat by telephone on 22 July. In the complaint he filed the next day with the police in Pallabi, the Dhaka district where he lives, he mentioned his investigation into corruption involving several governors of an important secondary school in Comilla, a city 110 km east of Dhaka.