Uwazi

The closing of garment factories without informing the workers, retrenchment of workers and non-payment of wages on time are often causes of dissatisfaction among the workers in the readymade garment industry. In many factories, workers are still deprived of the right to form trade unions.

Workers and employees of Style Craft Garment Factory in Laxmipur area under Gazipur City have been on strike and protest since 6 July 2021, demanding payment of arrears of three years’ salary and allowances. The factory authority announced multiple dates for the payment of workers and employees, but did not pay. Due to this, workers and employees gathered at the factory gate on 18 July and went on strike and protested. As a result, the road in front of the factory was blocked. The protesting workers were outraged as the factory authorities did not take any initiative to resolve the issue and when they marched towards Chandina intersection to block the Dhaka-Mymensingh and Dhaka-Tangail highways, the police baton charged them and fired tear gas shells and sound grenades. Six people were injured in the incident.

The closing of garment factories without informing the workers, retrenchment of workers and non-payment of wages on time are often causes of dissatisfaction among the workers in the readymade garment industry. In many factories, workers are still deprived of the right to form trade unions. On 14 July 2021, workers of Lakhsma Innerwear Ltd. in Shreepur Municipal area under Gazipur District blocked the road demanding arrears of wages. At that time, some unidentified miscreants attacked the women workers with sticks and chased the workers, trying to make them lift the blockade. Eight workers, including women, were injured in the attack. The injured workers received treatment at different hospitals.

Akhtaruzzaman, Bogura District correspondent of the daily Banijya Protidin, was picked up from his home by members of the Detective Branch (DB) of Police late at night on 17 July 2021, for publishing news about corruption in the distribution of allowances to employees working on a project in the family planning department in Bogura. At that time the family planning officer Dr. Samir Hossain Mishu and his Office Assistant Shamima Akhter were with the DB Police. Twenty hours after Akhtaruzzaman’s arrest, Shamima Akhter filed a case against him under the Digital Security Act, 2018 with Bogura Sadar Police Station.

On 8 February 2021, Dr. Tasneem Siddiqui, a Professor of Dhaka University and Chairperson of the Refugee and Migratory Movement Research Unit (RMMRU), an organisation working with migrant workers and expatriates, gave an interview in the daily Prothom Alo entitled “Remittance flow and expatriates do not match reality”. She was summoned before the Parliamentary Standing Committee on the Ministry of Finance on 23 September to explain her comments in the interview. In addition, due to the pressure on the media, various incidents and occurrences are not published there, but they have been published on social media. Thus, the government and ruling party leaders and activists have now brought the social media under extensive surveillance.

Bangladesh authorities and United Nations officials should take urgent measures to protect Rohingya refugees facing threats and violence in the Cox’s Bazar camps, Human Rights Watch said today. Rohingya community leaders and volunteer workers told Human Rights Watch that alleged members of armed Islamist groups were increasingly targeting them for extortion and other crimes.

On September 29, 2021, unidentified gunmen shot and killed Mohib Ullah, 46, chair of the Arakan Rohingya Society for Peace and Human Rights (ARSPH), in Kutupalong camp in Cox’s Bazar. His associates said that Mohib Ullah had repeatedly reported threats from armed groups operating in the camps to Bangladesh officials but received insufficient support from the authorities.

“Mohib Ullah’s flight from mass atrocities in Myanmar to then be killed in his place of refuge speaks volumes about the risks that Rohingya activists face every day,” said Meenakshi Ganguly, South Asia director at Human Rights Watch. “Bangladesh authorities should take urgent measures, with international assistance, to protect Rohingya activists who are defending the rights of refugees.”

Human Rights Watch interviewed nine people, including Rohingya activists and Mohib Ullah’s family members, who said that the authorities did not adequately investigate Mohib Ullah’s concerns or provide protection for him and other vulnerable activists. “The Bangladesh government deployed many security forces in the camps, but they were busy subduing and controlling refugees instead of protecting them,” said one activist.

At least a dozen activists have come forward to seek protection from the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, and Bangladesh officials since Mohib Ullah’s killing because of renewed threats from armed groups and other risks of violence. Humanitarian workers said that the environment inside the camps has become increasingly dangerous for Rohingya activists.

Mohib Ullah had served as a leader among the nearly one million Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh. He began receiving death threats in 2019 as his prominence grew, representing the Rohingya at the UN Human Rights Council and with the United States government. His organization said that the threats were from the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) and other armed groups that contested his leadership role.

In the months before his death, Mohib Ullah had expressed concern about the growing threats, activists and his family members said. In August, he sent a letter to the Bangladesh government Refugee Relief and Repatriation Commissioner, with copies to the camp-in-charge official and Special Branch in Cox’s Bazar, outlining the death threats that he and his colleagues had been receiving and requesting the office take action against the assailants, which the letter identifies as ARSA members.

One member of Mohib Ullah’s group was told in July that he would be killed if he returned to the group’s office, and that “very soon we will kill your leader.” Mohib Ullah’s colleagues said the letter received no reply.

A Bangladesh police official told Reuters they had received no reports from Mohib Ullah about any threats or requests for protection.

ARSA condemned the killing in written and audio statements and demanded authorities bring those responsible to account.

In a statement, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet said that Mohib Ullah’s death “is a clear example of the insecurity in the camp, and the apparent attempts to silence moderate civil society voices.”

UNHCR said that, in response to the killing, it “has enhanced its staff presence in the camps to ensure that the Rohingya refugees have direct access to support services and can report their concerns.” However, activists close to Mohib Ullah said that they have not been provided with adequate protection.

On October 3, police reported that they had arrested five men in connection with the killing. Mohib Ullah’s associates, however, have said that those allegedly responsible for the killing are still openly operating in the camp.

An activist with his group said, “Even this morning [October 3] some people visited my shelter and threatened my family saying, ‘Ask your son to be ready because the same fate is awaiting him, like Mohib Ullah. He is on the hit list of 10 people.’ I informed camp-in-charge, who assured me of safety, but I am worried because the police are not there all the time. If they really want to kill me, I’m an easy target for them.” Mohib Ullah’s wife said that she was worried for her daughters since her husband’s killing because of recent threats demanding that they marry members of the armed group.

Some refugees alleged that Bangladesh security forces and camp authorities seemed to underplay threats from armed Islamist groups. “When we complain to the authorities about ARSA’s crimes, they don’t pay any attention,” an activist said.

Another activist alleged collusion between some officers of the Armed Police Battalion deployed in the camps and members of the armed group. He said he went into hiding after receiving threats from ARSA but returned to his shelter when police promised protection, only for them to hand him over to the militants. “I was always being threatened by ARSA members since I started working as an activist, and I finally went into hiding. A few months later, two police officers lured me to come back to the camp and then handed me over to ARSA. I had to go through inhuman torture, until I paid ARSA a heavy ransom.”

ARSA members have attacked Christians and Hindus living in the camps alongside the predominantly Muslim Rohingya. Armed groups have also targeted women working as volunteers with humanitarian agencies. Hasina, a 26-year-old activist who works on women’s empowerment, said she was a victim of extortion by ARSA members.

Bangladesh authorities should fully investigate all those who might be responsible for Mohib Ullah’s killing and work with UNHCR to respond promptly when refugees are reporting imminent threats and provide immediate and effective protection, Human Rights Watch said. Concerned governments should ensure that activists and other refugees at heightened risk are priorities in planning around refugee assistance, protection, and resettlement.

“The Bangladesh government needs to address safety in the Rohingya camps both by developing better security and taking necessary action against groups engaged in illegal activity,” Ganguly said. “These refugees fled horrific abuses and are entitled to support from Bangladesh and other governments to live in the camps without fearing for their lives.”

Very early yesterday morning, officers with the police Rapid Action Battalion raided Raka’s home in Uttara, a suburb of Dhaka, and took her and her three sons to the battalion’s headquarters in Dhaka, according to news reports and Kanak Sarwar, a journalist and Raka’s brother, who spoke to CPJ in a phone interview.

Sarwar, who lives in exile in the United States, told CPJ that he believed that the arrest was in retaliation for his journalism and that Raka, who is a homemaker, had not committed any crime.

Police repeatedly questioned Raka about Sarwar, asking why he opposed the Bangladesh government and calling him “a freedom fighter,” Sarwar told CPJ, saying that he was able to briefly speak on the phone with his sister in detention. He said that authorities released Raka’s sons after about 30 hours, but she remains detained in a cell with no bed.

The Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Court in Dhaka ordered Raka to be detained for five days, Sarwar said, adding that she suffers from asthma and has experienced difficulty breathing in custody as she is recovering from COVID-19. He also said that police broke several items inside the house during the raid, including closets and jewelry boxes.

Sarwar told CPJ that he believes all authorities’ accusations against his sister are false.

“Punishing exiled journalist Kanak Sarwar by arresting his sister, Nusrat Shahrin Raka, is a crude and barbaric form of retaliation that should shame the government of Bangladesh,” said Steven Butler, CPJ’s Asia program coordinator. “Authorities must immediately release Raka, cease targeting critical journalists or their family members, and allow the media to operate without interference.”

In a press release issued yesterday, which CPJ reviewed, the Rapid Action Battalion alleged that Raka was involved in “destroying peace and order in the country by spreading false, defamatory, and provocative information about the government and important personalities of the state on social media” and accused her of involvement with an unnamed group engaging in “conspiratorial propaganda activities” with Sarwar.

The press release also claimed that authorities seized a mobile phone, passport, methamphetamine, and anti-state content from Raka’s home, and that she revealed during interrogation that she was an active member of an anti-state propaganda and conspiracy ring.

The Rapid Action Battalion filed two complaints at the Uttara West police station under the Digital Security Act and Narcotics Control Act, which CPJ reviewed.

The Digital Security Act complaint alleges that Raka violated three sections of the act: the publication of offensive, false, or threatening information; defamation; and the transmission or publication of content that deteriorates law and order. Each of those offenses can carry a prison sentence of three to seven years and a fine of 300,000 to 500,000 taka (US $3,497 to $5,827), according to that law.

The other complaint alleges that Raka possessed narcotics; under the Narcotics Control Act, Raka could face up to three years in prison if charged and convicted, according to Sarwar, citing her lawyer.

Sarwar told CPJ that a fake Facebook page had been created in recent weeks using Raka’s name, email address, and phone number, and that account published posts criticizing the government. Sarwar said that Raka filed a complaint to the Uttara West police station about that account on October 1, which CPJ reviewed.

The police complaint under the Digital Security Act cited posts made on that Facebook page, and attributed them to Raka.

Sarwar is the former senior correspondent for the privately owned broadcaster Ekushey TV; authorities held him from March 3 to November 16, 2015, on accusations of sedition after Ekushey TV broadcasted a speech by Tarique Rahman, the son of an opposition leader, according to CPJ research and Sarwar. He now operates the YouTube channel Kanak Sarwar News, which covers Bangladesh politics and has been critical of the ruling Awami League.

On December 8, 2020, the Bangladesh High Court directed authorities to block Sarwar’s social media pages after he interviewed a politician in Bangladesh on YouTube, as CPJ documented at the time.

CPJ emailed the Uttara West police station for comment, but did not receive any reply. CPJ called and messaged Ashique Billah, spokesperson of the Rapid Action Battalion, but did not receive any response.

Gunmen shot and killed a prominent Rohingya Muslim leader in a refugee camp in southern Bangladesh on Wednesday, a United Nations spokesperson and a local police official said, following months of worsening violence in the world's largest refugee settlement. Mohib Ullah, who was in his late 40s, led one of the largest of several community groups to emerge since more than 730,000 Rohingya Muslims fled Myanmar after a military crackdown in August 2017. Invited to the White House and to speak to the UN Human Rights Council, he was one of the most high-profile advocates for the Rohingya, a Muslim minority that has faced persecution for generations.

Rafiqul Islam, a deputy police superintendent in the nearby town of Cox's Bazar, told Reuters by phone that Mohib Ullah had been shot dead but had no additional details.

A spokesperson for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees said the agency was "deeply saddened" by the killing of Mohib Ullah. "We are in continuous contact with law enforcement authorities in charge of maintaining peace and security in the camps," the spokesperson said. Mohib Ullah's group, the Arakan Rohingya Society for Peace and Human Rights, made its name documenting atrocities the Rohingya suffered during the Myanmar crackdown, which the UN has said was carried out with genocidal intent. At the Bangladesh refugee camps, Mohib Ullah went from hut to hut to build a tally of killings, rape and arson that was shared with international investigators. His organization worked to give refugees more of a voice inside the camps and internationally. Speaking to the UN Human Rights Council, he said the Rohingya wanted more of a say over their own future. But his high profile made him a target of hardliners and he received death threats, he told Reuters in 2019. "If I die, I'm fine. I will give my life," he said at the time. The sprawling camps in Bangladesh have become increasingly violent, residents say, with armed men vying for power, kidnapping critics, and warning women against breaking conservative Islamic norms.

Aung Kyaw Moe, a Rohingya civil society activist and an adviser to Myanmar's National Unity Government, the parallel civilian government established after February's coup, said Mohib Ullah's death was a "big loss for the Rohingya community." "He was always aware there is a threat, but he thinks that despite the threat if he is not doing the work he is doing, no one else would," he said.

Bangladesh authorities must immediately drop their investigations into the bank accounts of 12 members of the press and commit to allowing the media to operate freely and independently, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

On August 11, the Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit, a government agency responsible for investigating money laundering and terrorist financing, ordered all scheduled banks to provide details of any accounts associated with Rozina Islam, a senior correspondent for the daily newspaper Prothom Alo, according to news reports and a person familiar with the case, who spoke to CPJ on the condition of anonymity, citing fear of reprisal. Islam is under investigation for allegedly photographing documents at the country’s Health Ministry without permission.

“Scheduled banks” refer to the 61 banks that are controlled and supervised by the government-owned Central Bank of Bangladesh.

Separately, on September 16, the Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit ordered banks to provide such information for an additional 11 journalists, according to various news reports and Muhammad Abdullah, city editor of The Daily Amardesh and president of a group within the Bangladesh Federal Union of Journalists, who spoke with CPJ via messaging app. The 11 journalists named in the September 16 order are also all executive members of several different journalist trade organizations, according to those news reports.

Authorities have not disclosed any reason for the order targeting those journalists, according to Abdullah, who said the reason behind the probe remains unclear.

“The Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit’s investigation of the bank accounts belonging to a dozen prominent journalists looks suspiciously like selective law enforcement aimed at intimidating the independent press,” said Steven Butler, CPJ’s Asia program coordinator. “Authorities should immediately drop these investigations, cease harassing journalists, and commit to allowing the media to operate openly and freely.”

According to the news reports and Abdullah, the 11 journalists are:

Farida Yasmin, senior subeditor of the privately owned Bengali-language newspaper The Daily Ittefaq and president of the National Press Club of Bangladesh
Elias Khan, special correspondent with the privately owned news outlet The Daily Amardesh—which has been prevented from publishing a print edition since 2013 and whose website was blocked domestically in 2020—and general secretary of the National Press Club of Bangladesh
Kader Gani Chowdhury, senior reporter with The Daily Amardesh and president of a group within the Dhaka Union of Journalists
Muhammad Abdullah, city editor of The Daily Amardesh and president of a group within the Bangladesh Federal Union of Journalists
Mohammad Shahidul Islam, subeditor of the privately owned Bengali-language daily newspaper The Daily Sangram and general secretary of a group within the Dhaka Union of Journalists
Sajjad Alam Khan Tapu, business editor of the privately owned news channel Jamuna TV and president of a group within the Dhaka Union of Journalists
Nurul Amin Rokon, news editor of the privately owned Bengali-language daily newspaper Daily Asia Bani and secretary general of a group within the Bangladesh Federal Union of Journalists
Molla Jalal, editor of the privately owned Bengali-language news website NNB and president of a group within the Bangladesh Federal Union of Journalists
Abdul Majid, special correspondent of the privately owned Bengali-language daily newspaper The Daily Samakal and secretary general of a group within the Bangladesh Federal Union of Journalists
Mursalin Nomani, senior reporter with the state-owned news agency Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha and president of Dhaka Reporters Unity, a local journalist training and press freedom group
Mosiur Rahman Khan, senior reporter with The Daily Samakal and general secretary of Dhaka Reporters Unity

Hasan Mahmud, the minister of information and broadcasting, told reporters at his office that the government can ask anyone for their bank details, and “if someone is transparent, there’s no reason to be worried about it,” according to The Dhaka Tribune.

The person familiar with Islam’s case said the August 11 order stemmed from an ongoing investigation by the Dhaka Metropolitan Police into a complaint filed by the country’s Health Ministry. On May 17, authorities arrested Islam for allegedly taking pictures of official documents at its Dhaka office, as CPJ documented at the time. She was released on bail on May 23, according to reports.

Islam has frequently reported on alleged corruption and mismanagement of the health sector’s COVID-19 response.

The ministry accused Islam of violating Sections 3 and 5 of the Official Secrets Act and Sections 379 and 411 of the penal code; if charged and convicted, she could face up to 14 years in prison or the death penalty, according to those laws.

On September 19, the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Court in Dhaka rejected Islam’s request for the return of her two mobile phones and press identification card, which were seized during her arrest, and her passport, which was seized as a condition of her release on bail, according to news reports and the person familiar with the case.

Health Minister Zahid Malek did not respond to CPJ’s request for comment regarding Islam’s case sent via email.

CPJ emailed Md. Masud Biswas, executive director of the Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit; Md. Shafiqul Islam, commissioner of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police; and Ferdousi Shahriar, the deputy chief of mission at the Embassy of Bangladesh in Washington, D.C., for comment on the 12 investigations, but did not receive any replies.

Bangladesh authorities must immediately drop all charges against journalists Kabir Kishore, Tasneem Khalil, and Shafiqul Islam Kajol, and cease harassing members of the press under the draconian Digital Security Act, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

On September 8 and 12, the Dhaka Cyber Tribunal accepted Digital Security Act charges against Kishore, a cartoonist; Khalil, editor of the Sweden-based news website Netra News; and Kajol, a photographer and editor with the Daily Pakkhakal magazine, according to multiple news reports and a person familiar with the cases, who spoke to CPJ on the condition of anonymity, citing fear of reprisal by Bangladesh authorities.

Kishore and Kajol are currently free on bail, according to those sources. Authorities have issued an arrest warrant for Khalil, who lives in Sweden, the journalist told CPJ in a phone interview.

Khalil said that the Bangladesh government did not inform him of the warrant, and he heard about it in the news. Bangladesh authorities have blocked domestic connections to Netra News since December 2019, according to Khalil and CPJ’s documentation from the time.

“The Bangladesh government must immediately cease its legal harassment of journalists Kabir Kishore, Tasneem Khalil, and Shafiqul Islam Kajol, who are being persecuted for their political commentary,” said Steven Butler, CPJ’s Asia program coordinator. “Authorities must drop all charges against them, stop harassing journalists in retaliation for their work, and repeal the draconian Digital Security Act, which enables these legal abuses.”

The Dhaka Cyber Tribunal accepted a charge sheet against Kajol on September 8, stemming from a criminal defamation complaint filed against him and dozens of others in March 2020 by Saifuzzaman Shikhor, a member of parliament with the ruling Awami League political party, according to various news reports, the person familiar with the case, and CPJ research, which said that two other people affiliated with the Awami League also filed two additional complaints against Kajol at that time.

The complaints cited Kajol’s critical writing on Facebook about local political leaders, and accused him of “publishing false news and circulating it on social media,” according to those sources. CPJ was unable to review Kajol’s Facebook posts, which have been taken down or set to private.

Kajol was charged under sections of the Digital Security Act pertaining to transmission or publication of offensive, false, or threatening information; unauthorized collection of identity information without lawful authority; publication or transmission of defamatory information; and publication or transmission of information that creates enmity, hatred, or hostility between different classes or communities of society, according to person familiar with the case and the charge sheet, which CPJ reviewed.

If convicted, each of those charges can carry a prison sentence between three and seven years, and a fine from 300,000 to 500,000 taka (US $3,517 to $5,861), according to the law. The next hearing in his case is scheduled for October 20, according to news reports and the person familiar with the case.

CPJ emailed and texted Shikhor at the address and phone number listed on his website, but received error messages in response. CPJ emailed the office of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who also serves as president of the Awami League, for comment, but did not immediately receive any reply.

Separately, on September 12, the cyber tribunal accepted charges submitted by the Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime unit of the detective branch of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police against Kishore, Khalil, and five others, according to various news reports and the person familiar with the cases.

The charges stem from a police report alleging that Kishore and five others ran a Facebook page that criticized the government; that Khalil made derogatory comments about government officials on his Facebook page; and that Khalil also “instigated” Kishore to “make anti-state rumours go viral on social media,” according to CPJ research and a report by Netra News.

In March, Kishore told CPJ that, during his previous detention as part of this case, unidentified men beat, abused, and tortured him while asking about his cartoons. CPJ has called on the Bangladesh government to conduct an independent investigation into the allegations of torture.

Kishore and Khalil were charged under sections of the Digital Security Act pertaining to the publication of propaganda against the liberation war of Bangladesh or national symbols; transmission or publication of offensive, false, or threatening information; publication of content that creates enmity, hatred, or hostility among different classes or communities; and abetment of an offense, according to the person familiar with their cases, who reviewed the charge sheet.

Those charges can carry prison sentences between three and ten years and fines of 300,000 to 10,000,000 taka (US $3,517 to $117,207), according to the law.

The next hearing in Kishore and Khalil’s cases is scheduled for September 30, according to the person familiar with the case.

CPJ contacted Khandaker Al Moyeen, the director of the legal and media wing of the Rapid Action Battalion, which opened the investigation into Kishore and Khalil in May 2020, via messaging app for comment, but did not receive any response. CPJ also contacted Mohammad Rassell Mollah, the investigating officer who submitted the charge sheet against Kajol, via messaging app for comment, but did not receive any response.

CPJ also emailed Md. Shafiqul Islam, commissioner of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police, for comment on all three cases, but did not receive any reply.

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) is appalled to learn that the Bangladeshi government agency that combats money-laundering and the financing of terrorism has ordered an investigation into a well-known newspaper reporter. In the absence of relevant legislation, RSF calls for an immediate end to this probe and all other attempts to intimidate this journalist.

The investigation ordered by the Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit (BFIU) is the latest form of governmental harassment of Rozina Islam, an investigative reporter for the country’s leading daily Prothom Alo.

RSF has learned that, on 11 August, the BFIU asked Bangladeshi banks to provide detailed statements of all transactions in any accounts held by Islam. The order is astonishing, to say the least, given that the BRIU’s own website says that the agency’s main objective is to “establish an effective system for prevention of money laundering, combating financing of terrorism and proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.”

“In the light of all the circumstances, the requests from the BFIU concerning Rozina Islam go far beyond the scope of the agency's competence and it is therefore, clear that they are part of a new attempt to harass this journalist,” said Daniel Bastard, the head of RSF’s Asia-Pacific desk. “We call for the immediate withdrawal of the requests made by the BFIU and, more broadly, for an end to the growing harassment of this journalist by various government agencies.”

Islam was arbitrarily arrested and tortured by the police on 17 May as a result of an espionage accusation by the health ministry. As RSF reported at the time, everything indicates that the accusation was a reprisal for a series of investigative reports she had written about corruption within the Bangladeshi health system.

Since then, Islam has been subjected to repeated harassment – including the confiscation of her press card and passport – that prevents her from working freely as a journalist.

Bangladesh is ranked 152nd out of 180 countries in RSF's 2021 World Press Freedom Index.

Bangladesh authorities should immediately cease harassing brothers and colleagues Sayful Arkane, a reporter, and Mohammad Aziz Arkane, a camera operator, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

On August 2, the brothers, who cover Rohingya refugees for the YouTube channel of Rohingya news website The Arakan Times, participated in a meeting between Rohingya refugees, U.N. officials, and officials with the office of Bangladesh’s Refugee Relief and Repatriation Commissioner in Nayapara refugee camp in Cox’s Bazar in southeast Bangladesh, to discuss changes to food ration cards following protests over the issue, according to Mohammad Aziz Arkane and video of the meeting, which CPJ reviewed.

Immediately following the meeting, an officer with the office of Bangladesh’s Refugee Relief and Repatriation Commissioner ordered police to arrest Mohammad Aziz Arkane, the journalist told CPJ via phone. He said that a police officer grabbed him, put a hand over his mouth to prevent him from screaming, and pulled him backward but that he was able to struggle free.

Since then, he said that he and his brother have fled to separate hiding places to avoid police detection. He told CPJ that police have repeatedly called him since August 2 and demanded his location.

At approximately 2:00 p.m. on August 2, officers with the Armed Police Battalion raided the brothers’ family home in Nayapara refugee camp, interrogated their parents as to their whereabouts, and said that they were searching for them due to their journalistic activities, according to Mohammad Aziz Arkane. He told CPJ that officers referenced videos the brothers produce for The Arakan Times, though did not name specific reports.

Since August 2, officers with the same unit have visited the brothers’ home multiple times a day searching for the two journalists, Mohammad Aziz Arkane said. When they visited today, they demanded from the brothers’ parents a bribe of 100,000 taka (US$1,179) in order not to file a criminal case against the brothers in retaliation for their journalistic activities, according to a person familiar with the case, who spoke to CPJ on the condition of anonymity due to fear of reprisal by authorities.

“Sayful Arkane and Mohammad Aziz Arkane’s reporting on the living conditions of Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh is critical work that must be allowed to continue unhindered,” said Steven Butler, CPJ’s Asia program coordinator. “Bangladesh authorities should immediately cease harassing the brothers and their family, and make clear that they will not be subject to arbitrary arrest.”

Shaifur Rahman, a U.K.-based freelance journalist and documentary filmmaker, who is familiar with the journalists’ case, confirmed the entirety of Mohammad Aziz Arkane’s account with CPJ via phone.

The Arakan Times covers human rights and the Rohingya community in Myanmar and across Asia, including news and videos about the impact of coronavirus, floods, and fire incidents in Rohingya refugee camps in Bangladesh, according to CPJ’s review.

Shah Rezwan Hayat, Bangladesh’s Refugee Relief and Repatriation Commissioner, did not respond to CPJ’s calls or text requesting comment via messaging app.

Tariqul Islam Tariq, commander of the Armed Police Battalion in Cox’s Bazaar, told CPJ via messaging app that his team in Nayapara refugee camp did not know Sayful Arkane and Mohammad Aziz Arkane, but that he was investigating the claim of the bribe offer.

A journalist was arrested in Bogura early yesterday in a case filed under the Digital Security Act over a Facebook post on corruption allegations against a health official and his office assistant.

The arrestee, Md Akhtaruzzaman, is Bogura district correspondent for daily Banijjo Pratidin. He has also been working as a multipurpose health volunteer at a community clinic in Bogura Sadar Upazila since last year.

On Saturday, a Facebook post was uploaded from an ID named Aftab Ahmed, bringing allegations of financial corruption against Bogura Sadar Upazila Health and Family Planning Officer Md Samir Hossain Mishu, and his office's Head Assistant and Accountant Shamima Akter.

It alleged that Mishu and Shamima embezzled money without paying due honorarium to multipurpose health volunteers.

Shamima filed a complaint with Bogura Sadar Police Station on Saturday night over the post. Police carried out an investigation and found that the Facebook ID was operated by Akhtaruzzaman, said Emran Mahmud Tuhin, inspector of Detective Branch (DB) of Police in Bogura.

Asked, Md Selim Raza, officer-in-charge of Bogura Sadar Police Station, said, "A team of DB police arrested Akhtaruzzaman from his house around 3:00am today. Hours later, a case was filed against him under the Digital Security Act.

"In primary interrogation, he [Akhtaruzzaman] admitted that he uploaded the post from a fake ID on provocation from some multipurpose health volunteers."

Contacted, both Mishu and Shamima refuted the corruption allegations and claimed that the volunteers were given proper honorarium as per rules.

Talking to this correspondent, Akhtaruzzaman's father Md Rafiqul Islam said, "A team of police along with Samir Hossain Mishu came to our Sabgram house around 3:00am and took away my son and his electronic devices."

On July 10, police in the northeast district of Thakurgaon opened Digital Security Act investigations into the three journalists, according to news reports and a police report, which CPJ reviewed.

Authorities are investigating Tanu, the Thakurgaon district correspondent for the news websites Jago News and Daily Ittefaq and the privately owned broadcaster Independent Television; Shuvo, a correspondent for the news website NewsBangla24.com; and Litu, a correspondent for the news websites Jugantor and Bangladesh Pratidin and the privately owned broadcaster News 24, according to those sources.

On the night of July 10, police arrested Tanu when he went to the local Sadar police station to inquire about the investigation; they then transferred him to the Sadar Hospital yesterday morning for treatment for respiratory issues, and released him on bail later that day, those reports said. Police handcuffed Tanu to a hospital bed while he received treatment, according to those reports.

Shuvo told CPJ via messaging app that he and Litu have not been arrested as of today.

“Bangladesh authorities should drop their Digital Security Act investigations into journalists Tanvir Hasan Tanu, Rahim Shuvo, and Abdul Latif Litu immediately,” said Steven Butler, CPJ’s Asia program coordinator. “The Bangladesh government must repeal the act, cease harassing journalists, and allow them to do their jobs, which are a public service, not a crime.”

The investigations stem from a complaint filed by Nadirul Aziz Chapal, the superintendent of the Thakurgaon Sadar Hospital, who alleged that the journalists published reports about the hospital intended to defame and spread enmity and hatred, according to a copy of his complaint, which CPJ reviewed. CPJ called and texted Chapal for comment, but he did not reply.

The complaint referenced a July 5 article by Tanu in Jago News; a July 8 article by Shuvo in NewsBangla24.com; and a July 7 article in Jugantor, published anonymously, which Chapal alleges Litu authored. All three articles detailed allegations that Thakurgaon Sadar Hospital provided sub-standard food to COVID-19 patients.

Police are investigating the three journalists under sections of the Digital Security Act pertaining to the publication of offensive, false, or threatening information; propaganda; defamatory information; information that creates enmity, hatred, or hostility among different classes or communities; and abetment of an offense, according to the police report.

Each of those counts can carry maximum prison sentences ranging from three years to five years and maximum fines ranging from 300,000 taka ($3,540) to 500,000 taka ($5,900).

Shahadat Hossain, a journalist for the Bengali language daily newspaper, Prothom Alo, was attacked on June 1 while reporting on a protest in Brahmanbaria railway station demanding the reopening of the railway. The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) condemns the attack against Hossain.

According to news reports, Hossain was attacked at the railway station protest organized by the Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL). The railway was closed following the nationwide anti-Modi protest against the killing and attack of Hefazat-e-Islam's activists by police and members of the Bangladesh Chhatra League, the youth wing of the ruling Awami League political party.

Hossain told dainiksarod.com, “Bangaldesh Chhatra League (BCL) leader named Roman Mia (26), and his brother attacked me after knowing that I informed a Juba League leader about BCL’s attack on Muradul Islam, the gate keeper of the station.” Other journalists at the protest assisted Hossain and took him to Brahmanbaria General Hospital for treatment.

The incident was condemned by Brahmanbaria Press Club. District political leaders including BCL president, Rabiul Hossain Rubel, also expressed grief over the incident.

Hossain filed a case against Roman Mia at Sadar Model Police Station on the same day. In response to the complaint, Mia was arrested and appeared at court on June 2. According to Sadar Model Police Station officer-in-charge (OC) Emranul Islam, police arrested, Zahirul Islam Jumman, another person accused of attacking Hossain

On March 25 and 26, more than 17 journalists covering anti-Modi demonstrations were assaulted by Bangladesh police as well as members of the Chhatra League.

Bangladesh authorities should drop all oppressive charges against the renowned Bangladeshi journalist Rozina Islam, Human Rights Watch said today. Islam’s colleagues believe she was detained over her reporting on corruption and mismanagement in the public health sector, including the government’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Islam is accused under sections 3 and 5 of the Official Secrets Act and sections 379 and 411 of the Penal Code, for allegedly attempting to “collect sensitive government documents and taking photos of them” at the Health Ministry. If convicted, she faces up to 14 years in prison and the possibility of the death penalty. Journalists across Bangladesh are protesting to seek her release.

“Bangladesh authorities should produce evidence of wrongdoing or immediately release Rozina Islam and stop arresting journalists for doing their job, which is also to highlight governance flaws,” said Brad Adams, Asia director. “Instead of locking up critics, encouraging a free press should be central to the government’s strategy to strengthen health services in combatting the pandemic.”

Media reported that Islam went to the Health Ministry at around 3:30 p.m. on May 17, 2021, for a meeting with the health services secretary. She was confined to a room there for nearly six hours, during which she fell ill and fainted, then was taken to the police. According to the complaint filed by the Health Ministry, she had taken government documents related to the procurement of Covid-19 vaccines. She denies these allegations.

In a video recording by another journalist after her hearing on May 18, Islam said that, “because of my reporting on the Health Ministry, I am being wronged.” Her recent work includes reporting on bribery in recruitment at the health directorate, irregularities in the purchasing of emergency medical supplies to respond to the Covid-19 pandemic, and for holding much-needed donated emergency medical supplies at the airport for ten months.

On May 18, a magistrate court turned down the police department’s request for 5-day remand and instead sent her to jail until her bail hearing on May 20. The court ordered the police to submit a report on their investigation into the allegations by July 15 and for the jail authorities to ensure that Islam has access to necessary medical care according to national law.

The Bangladesh Editor’s Council said that Islam’s arrest under a colonial-era law is “the manifestation of the negative attitude and the evil mentality of the authorities concerned to gag newspapers.” The Committee to Protect Journalists called for her release, while a spokesperson for the UN secretary-general expressed concern.

Bangladesh authorities have frequently gone after journalists and the media for reporting critically on the government’s response to the pandemic. For instance, in May 2020, the authorities arrested four people and charged seven others for “spreading rumors and misinformation on Facebook” because they criticized the government’s response to the pandemic.

Mushtaq Ahmed, a writer who was among the four, died in custody on February 25 after being held in pre-trial detention for nine months during which it has been credibly alleged that he was tortured. After a public outcry over Ahmed’s death, Ahmed Kabir Kishore, a cartoonist arrested at the same time, was granted bail. He described being tortured after he was taken into custody and also said that Ahmed had been brutally beaten.

The authorities have also increased surveillance of anyone who might spread “rumors” about the Covid-19 pandemic and ramped up media censorship.

Human Rights Watch and eight other organizations wrote to Michelle Bachelet, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, on World Press Freedom Day, on May 3, raising concerns over continuing attacks on the media including arbitrary arrests, torture, and extrajudicial killings.

“The arrest of Rozina Islam sends a terrifying message to journalists uncovering corruption in Bangladesh,” Adams said. “By speaking out for Islam, concerned governments will be standing with Bangladeshi journalists across the country.”

Abu Tayyab, a senior television journalist, was arrested by police on April 20 under the controversial Digital Security Act (DSA) for writing social media posts about alleged corruption by Khulna City Corporation (KCC) mayor, Talukder Abdul Khaleque. The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) urges the KCC mayor to drop all charges against the journalist.

Tayab, Khulna bureau chief of NTV, a private television channel, was arrested on April 20 following the filing of a case against the journalist under the DSA on April 19. Tayab is accused of spreading ‘negative propaganda’ on his Facebook account and of defaming the KCC mayor, who is also the president of Awami League's city unit, by publishing false news stories regarding the mayor’s alleged corruption.

Following his arrest, Tayab faced Khulna Metropolitan Magistrate’s court on April 21. The court Magistrate, Tariqul Islam, rejected the bail petition filed by the journalist’s lawyer.

Bangladesh’s DSA, adopted in October 2018, puts dangerous restrictions on freedom of expression and is regularly used by authorities to silence criticism. During 2020, arrests under the DSA increased significantly to crackdown on Covid-19 ‘rumours’. Bangladeshi writer, Mushtaq Ahmed, was detained under the DSA in May 2020 for posting criticism of the government’s response to Covid-19 on Facebook; he died in police custody on February 25, 2021.

At least five people working at a under construction coal-power plant in Chittagong were killed in a clash with the police following a protest by the workers over wage and allowances, media reports said on Saturday.

The incident happened when the protesting workers of the plant, which is being constructed by a Chinese firm, allegedly clashed with the police, “prompting the personnel to open fire in which five workers were killed,” the Dhaka Tribune reported.

“The violence broke out around 10:30 am at the coal-fired power plant. Five have died while at least 20 others were injured in the clash, including police and local residents,” a senior police officer was quoted as saying in the report.

The dead have been identified as Ahmed Reza, 18, Rony Hossain, 22, Shuvo, 24, Mohammad Rahat, 22, and Raihan, 18.

According to local residents, there was growing tension between the power plant administration and the workers at the power plant in the last few days over various issues.

The situation escalated on Saturday morning, leading to the clash between police and workers.

Speaking on the matter, Chattogram Range Deputy Inspector General Anwar Hossain said the workers were protesting over the matter since Friday.

A meeting had been held over the issue but the agitating workers allegedly attacked the power plant during one point of their demonstration, he was quoted as saying by the Daily star.

Azizul Islam, inspector (investigation) of Banshkhali police station said the four bodies were sent to Banshkhali upazila health complex, the report said.

A worker, who sustained bullet injuries to his abdomen during the clash at a power plant in Banshkhali upazila on Saturday, died at Chittagong Medical College and Hospital on Wednesday night, raising the death toll to 6.

The deceased was identified as 23-year-old Shimul Ahmed, son of Abdul Malek of Srimangal in Moulvibazar district.

Zahirul Haque Bhuiya, in-charge of Chittagong Medical College and Hospital police outpost, said Shimul sustained bullet injuries to his abdomen and was undergoing treatment at the ICU of the hospital since Saturday. "He succumbed to his injuries on Wednesday evening," he said.

His body has been kept at the mortuary of the hospital, said Zahirul.

Two cases have been filed against over 2,500 people in connection with Saturday's clash between workers and police at the coal-based power plant of the S Alam Group in Banshkhali over payment of dues, which left five people dead and 25 others injured on that day.

On 9 January 2021, members of the police and Ansar124chased and dispersed workers of a garment factory called Kuntang Apparels Limited in Adamji EPZ area under Narayanganj District when they staged a protest in front of 36the factory demanding payment of arrears of allowance and to reopen the factory. Later, workers got together and blocked the Dhaka-Demra road. At that time a clash took place between workers and the police.At least 10 workers were injured when police baton charged and threw tear gas at the workers.

Ruhul Amin, Coordinator of the Shramik-Krishak-Chhatra-Janata Oikya Parishad(Workers-Peasants-Students-People’s Unity Council), was picked up from his home in Khulna on26 February 2021 by some members of a law enforcement agency in plainclothes, for posting on Facebook, criticising the government over the death of Mushtaq Ahmed. Later, a case was filed against him under the Digital Security Act, 2018 with Khalishpur Police Station in Khulna. The case alleged that he was spreading propaganda on Facebook in order to cause confusion and tarnish the image of the state and the government’s reputation;to try to create animosity, instability and chaos among the people and to disrupt law and order.The court granted him two-day remand in police custody for interrogation.59It is to be noted that there are widespread allegations of torture by members of law enforcement agencies in the name of interrogation during remand.

Witnesses said at least 20 people, including journalists, were injured in the clashes at Soparjito Swadhinata Chattar near the TSC on Tuesday afternoon.

Members of BCL, the ruling Awami League’s student wing, gathered in front of Raju Memorial Sculpture on the campus in the morning to resist a programme announced by Chhatra Federation that had plans to burn Modi’s effigy.

The leftist students have been demonstrating against Modi ahead of his visit, demanding he be barred from entering Bangladesh due to his government’s policy towards minority groups.

Having failed to demonstrate in front of Raju Memorial Sculpture, the Chhatra Federation followers gathered at Sanjeeb Chattar of the TSC. Some BCL activists on motorcycle snatched the effigy away later.

BCL activists then tried to take away Modi’s effigy again when members of Pragatishil Chhatra Jote, an alliance of the leftist student groups, gathered at the TSC after marching in procession.

When the leftist students started burning Modi’s photo, the BCL activists tried to chase them away, triggering a running battle.

Jibon Ahmed, photojournalist of the daily Manabzamin, Rubel Rashid of the Desh Rupantor, Kazi Salauddin Raju of Zuma Press, Jabed Hasnain Chowdhury of the United News of Bangladesh, and freelance journalist ‘Himu’ were injured during the clashes.

Jibon said a person tried to hit his camera with a helmet. Jibon’s left hand was injured when he tried to protect his camera.

Pragati Tapan Barma, general secretary of Samajtantrik Chhatra Front’s Dhaka University unit, was “severely” injured in “brutal attack by Chhatra League workers”, said Salman Siddiqui, president of the unit.

More than 20 leaders and activists of the leftist student groups were taken to Dhaka Medical College Hospital for treatment of their injuries, according to him.

BCL President Al-Nahian Khan Joy and Lekhak Bhattacharya could not be reached immediately for comments.

Hundreds of people in Bangladesh took part Saturday in a second day of demonstrations sparked by the death of a writer at a high-security prison in a case that has drawn international concern.

Protesters marched at the University of Dhaka chanting slogans condemning the government's treatment of Mushtaq Ahmed as well as other dissident writers, journalists and activists.

Another protest was staged at the National Press Club.

Demonstrators demanded the scrapping of Bangladesh's hardline Digital Security Act (DSA) under which Ahmed was imprisoned. The law has been used to crack down on dissent since it was enacted in 2018.

Security forces clashed with students in Dhaka on Friday night. Police said six people were arrested while activists said at least 30 were injured.

Ahmed collapsed and died at Kashimpur High Security Prison late Thursday. He was first detained in May after criticizing on Facebook the government's handling of the coronavirus pandemic.

The 53-year-old, a crocodile farmer and a writer known for his satirical style, was charged with spreading rumors and conducting "anti-state activities."

Protesters have called his death a "custodial murder" after he was denied bail six times in 10 months.

"Mushtaq Ahmed's death was not a normal death. We'll say it was a murder," said Manisha Chakraborty, a protester with a left-wing group.

Demonstrators said they would march to the office of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina carrying a coffin later Saturday.

Facing international questions on the case, authorities have ordered a probe into Ahmed's death, senior government official S.M. Tarikul Islam told AFP.

"We formed a committee to probe whether there was negligence by jail officials or procedures in his treatment," Islam said.

Thirteen ambassadors from countries including the United States, France, Britain, Canada and Germany have expressed "grave concern."

"We call on the government of Bangladesh to conduct a swift, transparent and independent inquiry into the full circumstances of Mr. Mushtaq Ahmed's death," the ambassadors said in a statement released late Friday.

They said their countries would be following up over "wider concerns about the provisions and implementation of the DSA, as well as questions about its compatibility with Bangladesh's obligations under international human rights laws and standards."

Rights groups have also raised concerns about the case.

The New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) called for "a swift, transparent and independent investigation", while PEN America said authorities should drop charges against Kabir Kishore, a cartoonist who was detained along with Ahmed.

The CPJ said Kishore passed a note to his brother during a hearing this week stating that he had been subjected to severe physical abuse in police custody.

Detectives have pressed charges against photojournalist Shafiqul Islam Kajol in a case filed with Hazaribagh Police Station under the Digital Security Act.

Sub-inspector Mohammad Rassel Mollah of detective branch of police, and also investigation officer of the case, submitted the charge sheet to the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate's Court of Dhaka on Sunday.

In the charge sheet, the IO said the charges brought against Kajol were primarily proved and he should be brought under trial.

Usmin Ara Beli, a member of Bangladesh Jubo Mahila League's Central Committee, filed the case against Kajol on March 10 last year.

Later, Kajol was shown arrested in the case on May 14 last year and he was placed on a three-day remand in the case on June 28 the same year.

On June 23, Kajol was also shown arrested in a case filed against him by ruling party lawmaker Saifuzzaman Shikhor (from Magura-1) with Sher-e-Bangla Nagar Police Station under the same act.

He was later shown arrested in another case filed with Kamrangir Char Police Station under the Digital Security Act.

However, investigators are yet to submit any probe report on the two cases filed with Sher-e-Bangla Nagar and Kamrangir Char police stations.

Kajol was found by Border Guard Bangladesh in Benapole on May 3, 2020 -- 53 days into his disappearance. He was then arrested initially on charges of trespassing but was granted bail by a Jashore court.

However, on the same day, Kajol was shown arrested under section 54 of the Code of Criminal Procedure after police informed the court that three more cases against Kajol were pending with different police stations in Dhaka.

The court then sent him to Jashore jail. Later, he was shifted to the jail in Keraniganj.

On December 25, last year, Kajol was released after the High Court granted him bail in all three cases on different dates.

Police have pressed charges against cartoonist Ahmed Kabir Kishore, writer Mushtaq Ahmed and Rashtrochinta activist Didarul Islam Bhuiyan in a cased filed under Digital Security Act last year.

A total of 11 people were prosecuted in the case filed by Abu Bakar Siddique, assistant director of Rab-3, with Ramna Police Station on May 6 last year.

Court sources confirmed that the police submitted the charge sheet at the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Court of Dhaka on Thursday.

Charges were framed against three of the accused, while eight others were let off, due to lack of evidence against them, the court sources confirmed.

The eight others include Swedish-Bangladeshi journalist Tasneem Khalil who runs Netra News; US-based journalist Shahed Alam; Germany-based blogger Asif Mohiuddin; Minhaj Mannan Emon, managing director of BLE securities and shareholder-director of Dhaka Stock Exchange; expatriate Zulkarnain Saer Khan; Ashik Imran; Shapan Wahed; and Philip Schuhmacher.

The 11 accused were prosecuted under section 21, Section 25(1) (b), Section 31 and Section 35 of the law, which prosecutes anyone running propaganda or campaign, "against the Liberation War of Bangladesh, the cognition of the Liberation War, Father of the Nation, National Anthem or National Flag", anyone "tarnishing the image of the nation or spread confusions" or attempting to "create hostility, hatred or adversity among people or destroy any communal harmony or create unrest or disorder or deteriorates or threatens to deteriorate law and order."

Kishore and Mushtaq have been in prison for the last 9 months, while Minhaj and Didar were granted bail by the court last September.

Kishore and Mushtaq's bail petitions have been rejected as many as six times, their legal team informs.

Jamshedul Alam, sub-inspector of Ramna Police Station, is investigating the case.

Environmental activist Sheikh Saifullah of Keshabpur upazila in Jashore on Saturday filed a general diary (GD) with Keshabpur police station seeking security after a phone conversation between the officer-in-charge of the police station Md Jasim Uddin and local member of parliament Shaheen Chaklader was leaked.

Sheikh Saifullah is from Satbaria village in the upazila. He works with the non-government Bangladesh Environment Lawyers Association (BELA). He filed a writ petition with the High Court against an illegal brick factory, Messer’s Super Bricks, in the locality. The court issued directives to shut down the factory. This move made Shaheen Chaklader, lawmaker of Keshabpur upazila (Jashore-6) and general secretary of Awami League’s Jashore unit, furious.

Around two weeks ago, the MP talked to OC Jasim Uddin over phone. He asked the OC to explode bombs at the police station and file a case against Saifullah accusing him of the explosion aimed at committing robbery. The MP further told the OC that if he can’t do that, he could ask plainclothesmen to explode bombs at the brick factory and make Sheikh Saifullah accused in the case.

Saifullah’s GD statement said, on 29 January he came to know through an online news portal that the local MP Shaheen Chaklader is putting pressure over mobile phone on the OC of Keshabpur police station to file a fabricated lawsuit against him. He was among the local people who submitted evidences against the illegal brick factory in Satbaria village. He is feeling insecure because of the phone conversation between the OC and the MP.

Speaking to Prothom Alo, Keshabpur police station OC Jasim Uddin said Saifullah has filed a GD with the police station. All necessary measures will be taken to ensure his safety.

Local businessperson Faruqul Islam is the owner of the brick factory. He set up the factory on agricultural land by the Satbaria market in the upazila in 2017. Local people said there is a government health complex and a girls’ school are near the brick factory. There are many houses in the area too.

Farmers and local people have been staging demonstrations against setting up the factory from the very first as the black smoke destroys the environment and people have been suffering from breathing complications and other diseases. The factory had no NOC of the environment directorate and deputy commissioner. Faruqul allegedly beat up farmers for demonstrating.

On 21 December last year, executive magistrate of the environment directorate Rozina Akhter ordered to demolish the chimney of the kiln and unbaked bricks. Earlier, the factory was closed thrice in May 2017, 15 November 2018 and 21 May 2020 as per the directives of the High Court.

Faruqul allegedly kept the brick factory open by ‘managing’ the local politicians and administration for four years. Few businessmen close to Faruqul said he is a supporter of ruling Awami League but he does not hold any post. He used money to ‘manage’ things. Faruqul allegedly got the favour of previous MP of the constituency as well.

However, in an interview with Prothom Alo on Friday, Shaheen Chaklader claimed that the leaked audio is tampered. He did not talk like that to the OC.

Speaking to Prothom Alo on Saturday, brick factory owner Faruqul Islam said, “I don’t know what the MP told the OC.”

He claimed, “Saifullah in known as a terrorist in the area. He files lawsuits with the High Court if anything happens at all. He has shut down my brick factory by filing a case. I have incurred loss. I had requested MP Shaheen bhai to settle the matter. Maybe that’s why he said something.”

Shaheen Chaklader, general secretary of Awami League’s Jashore district unit, was elected an MP in a by-election held at the Jashore-6 constituency on 14 July last year following the death of former lawmaker and state minister for public administration Ismat Ara Sadique.

Shaheen Chaklader also served as the chairman of Jashore sadar upazila.

A local journalist in Sunamganj, Kamal Hossain, was beaten up and tied to a tree for taking pictures of illegal sand extraction from the bank of a river in Tahirpur upazila of Sunamganj. His face, head, forehead and other parts of his body were severely wounded. The incident took place at noon, Monday, in Ghagtia of ​​Jadukata river in Badaghat union of Tahirpur upazila.

Kamal Hossain is currently undergoing treatment at Tahirpur upazila health complex. He is the Tahirpur upazila correspondent of Daily Sangbad and Daily Shubho Pratidin published from Sylhet.

This Prothom Alo correspondent received a copy of the video of Kamal Hossain being tortured. The video shows him crying out while tied to a tree. He was surrounded by several people and blood was dripping from his forehead. He was begging in the name of Allah to loosen the knot around his wrists, but the people around him were laughing.

Sunamganj district correspondent of Sangbad, Latifur Rahman, said Kamal Hossain worked for several local dailies including Sangbad. Latifur Rahman was looking into the reasons behind the incident.

Talking to the police, family members and the locals, it was revealed that Kamal Hossain went to the area to collect information regarding the illegal sand extraction from the banks of the Jadukata river. he took photographs of the river banks being excavated. Some people reportedly grabbed him and started to beat him up. Kamal was severely injured. Later, the people took him to the nearby Chawkbazar area where they tied him to a tree with a rope. At around 2:30pm, on hearing the news, another local journalist and the family members of Kamal Hossain went to the place with the police from Badaghat police outpost. He was rescued and admitted to Tahirpur upazila health complex.

While undergoing treatment at the health complex, the victim told Prothom Alo over the phone that he took some pictures of extracting sand from the river. Later, he was talking to the locals at a nearby shop. Then Mahmudul Islam, Deen Islam and Rais Uddin of Ghagtia village came and started to beat him up indiscriminately. They struck him with a cleaver ('da') on his forehead. Later, he was tied to a tree.

Kamal Hossain said that while beating him up, the people said the sand extraction was always stopped whenever journalists reported about this and so they would kill him. They will manage the consequences later, they said. They also took away his camera and mobile phone.

Mahmud Ali Shah of Ghagtia village said, the sand extraction from the river is officially closed. However the poor people and day labourers of the area make a living by collecting sand with baskets. He claimed that Kamal went there and demanded Tk 30,000 from the people involved in sand extraction. He said he will manage the police and the administration. Kamal even said the people that they will not be able to do this works without giving him the money. At one stage of the argument, the workers beat him up.

Mahmudul Islam, the officer-in-charge (OC) of Badaghat police outpost in Tahirpur upazila, said that on hearing the news police rushed to the spot and rescued Kamal Hossain. Later he was handed over to his family. Police will investigate the incident and try to find the reason behind this.

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.

On 20 August 2014, human rights defenders Ms Moshrefa Mishu and Ms Jesmin Jui were temporarily detained. Ms Moshrefa Mishu is the President of the Garments Sromik Oikko, also known as the Garment Workers Unity Forum (GWUF). Ms Jesmin Jui is an organiser of the GWUF. Police detained the two human rights defender at around 3:30pm on 20 August 2014 as they were travelling to attend a rally organised by workers near Hossain Market at Badda, Dhaka. Hossain Market houses three garment factories that form part of the Tuba Group. On 18 August 2014, the authorities placed a notice outside the offices of five Tuba Group factories whose workers were on hunger strike between 28 July 2014 and 7 August 2014. The strikers had been demanding three months of unpaid wages and festival bonuses. The notices stated that the five factories would remain closed due to ongoing unrest regarding payment of the workers' wages. Moshrefa Mishu and Jesmin Jui were on their way to attend a rally on 20 August 2014, which was organised to demand the reopening of the Tuba Group factories, when they were arrested and held in Badda police station for three hours. At around 6.30pm, Moshrefa Mishu and Jesmin Jui were taken to the Office of the Detective Branch (DB) on Mintoo Road in Dhaka and were released at around 7:30 pm.

The Bangladesh government wants to quash human rights activism. The cabinet has approved the "Foreign Donations (Voluntary Activities) Regulations Bill, 2014", which will likely become law soon. The Bill empowers bureaucrats to decide the fate of NGOs and voluntary activities. All individuals or collectives, from NGO's to volunteer groups, receiving foreign funds for implementing projects will be under constant surveillance under this law. The law will usher even more arbitrary executive actions in Bangladesh. The Bill, in its current form, empowers bureaucrats to grant registration to NGO's on the basis of 'satisfaction' and suspend, cancel, or disband registration for alleged 'irregularities' in any project implemented by the NGO. There is no scope for challenging the government's decision before any court. On the other hand, the government will be able appoint administrators to sue persons linked to targeted entities. The Secretary to the Office of the Prime Minister will decide the 'appeal' of an aggrieved entity within 30 days. The decision of the Secretary will be final. Section 19 takes the cake. "For the fulfilling the purpose of this law, the government, by Gazette Notification, can promulgate rules: provided that unless the rules are made, the government, when necessary, by general or special orders, in compliance with this law, can take any action and can execute any order under this law", reads the section. It leaves no doubt about the NGO purge that awaits Bangladesh. To achieve its ends, the Bill seeks to attribute all related power to the Director General (DG) of the NGO Affairs Bureau (NGOAB), a wing under the Office of the Prime Minister of Bangladesh. The entire set of executive administrative officers - from the Upazilla Nirbahi Officer (UNO), the chief executive officer at the sub-district level, to the regional Divisional Commissioner, will be given the authority to inspect, monitor, and evaluate the activities of NGOs. These executive officers will be empowered to visit NGO offices from time to time and conduct monthly coordination meetings for evaluating activities. Big Brother is set to enter NGOAB, which has so far been ruled by corruption and politicisation, being as it is a part of the state apparatus. The Prime Minister's schizophrenic desires, 'save this one' and 'off with that head', will be honoured by bureaucrats under this law. As it is, the government and the judiciary, which is just another tool in the hands of the government, have been constantly harassing local and international human rights defenders, organisations, and professionals. Now bureaucrats will join the party. The patterns of recent harassment indicate that this law will be both used and abused against human rights organisations. Those reluctant to compromise with the regime will be crushed. Those with allegiance to the regime will be further trained to hit the right tune when more gross rights violations occur. The little knowledge creation in Bangladesh will be restricted further, as the Bill seeks to ban foreign funding even for autonomous bodies, such as universities. The Bill has elicited a curious response in Bangladesh. Certain 'elite' members of civil society in Bangladesh are aggrieved about the inclusion of individuals under the control of the NGOAB in the Bill, as this will, apparently, hurt their lucrative consultancies. However, the repression the law will unleash across the nation appears to be beyond comprehension.

Daily Star Report: Md Nur Khan, a director of rights body Ain o Salish Kendra (ASK), narrowly escaped an abduction attempt while emerging from his Lalmatia office in the capital this afternoon. The latest development has created more panic among the people already reeling from a wave of abductions. Talking to The Daily Star, he said some six to seven youths aged between 28 and 30 began following him as soon as he got out of his office around 5:10pm. Nur Khan added that the youths in a white microbus prevented his rickshaw just yards away of his office. He said he somehow managed to return to his office as the youths were getting out of the vehicle to drag him into it. "A group had been following me since the last month," Noor said, adding some people even went to his office to get information about his movements. The rights activist said he filed a general diary with Mohammadpur Police Station on April 20 in this regard. A sense of insecurity has been prevailing in the country since the abduction and killing of seven people including Narayanganj city panel mayor Nazrul Islam and senior lawyer Chandan Sarker late last month. ______________________________ FORUM-ASIA Urgent Alert Dear Ms. Sekaggya, Mr. Kiai and Mr. La Rue, We urgently want to inform you about the abduction attempt of Human Rights Defender, Mr. Nur Khan in Bangladesh. Nur Khan is the Director (investigation) of Ain o Salish Kendra (ASK), the leading Human Rights organization in Bangladesh (www.askbd.org). On 15 May at around 5.10pm Noor Khan left ASK office (7/17, Block B, Lalmatia, Dhaka 1207). He got a rikshawa(manually paddled three wheeler) with another colleague and were just about few yards away from the office when a white micro bus obstructed his rickshawa. Being suspicious, Nur Khan quickly got down from the rickshawa and ran back to ASK office. His colleague noticed 5/6 people aged around 30 inside the micro bus. Mr. Nur Khan is a prominent Human Rights Defender. Along with his organization, he was always very vocal against the Human Rights violations by the Law enforcement agencies. Recent time he observed someone always following him in a motorbike and even coming to the office inquiring about his movement. On sensing insecurity earlier on 20 April Nur Khan filed a General Diary with Mohammadpur Police Station (No 1557 of 20/04/2014, attached). After today's incident, he has filed another GD (No 1250 of 15/05/2014, attached) The incident has already been reported in the online edition local media (The Daily Star Bangladesh We request your urgent intervention into the case. We will keep you posted with latest developments. Thanks in advance for your urgent intervention.

In January Mohammad Shamsuddin, the person who drives the car belonging to Saira Rahman Khan, the wife of Adilur Rahman Khan, was called up by a man who said he was a police of the Detective Branch. He knew Shamsuddin's name and told him that he must give information regarding Adilur Rahman Khan to the DB police whenever they asked for it. Shamsuddin said he did not work for Adilur Rahman Khan, but for his wife; and thus did not know where "sir' went, so he was unable to provide information. The caller became angry and began threatening Shamsuddin with dire consequences if he did not cooperate. On 5 March, at approximately 7:45 in the evening, Shamsuddin was picked up from near his home and taken to Banani Police Station, where he was put in handcuffs and beaten on his knees, arms and back with a heavy wooden ruler by the police, who demanded Tk. 10,000 from him. His family paid Tk. 5000. We came to learn of his arrest from his brother-in-law at 8:00 the next morning, after family members had gone to the Banani Police Station to see him. When they got there, he was already in a police van waiting to be taken before the Magistrate. He had been charged under the Drugs Act, allegedly for possession of ganja. Odhikar arranged for a lawyer to represent him and informed his family. Advocate Shamsuzzaman asked for bail, opposing the 5-day remand that the police sought. The Magistrate sent Shamsuddin to Dhaka Central Jail without granting bail or remand. On Thursday, 13 March, he was freed on bail. On 13 March, Adilur Rahman Khan was taking his mother for a check up to Square Hospital located in the central part of Dhaka City. When the family driver, Milon (who is in charge of Adilur Rahman Khan's father's car) parked the car and sat in a nearby furniture shop, two men approached him and called him by his name. They said they were from the Detective Branch of Police and one showed him an ID card. They had followed the car since it left the house. They told Milon that he had to give them information about Adil's daily schedule and where he went every day. Milon replied that he could not do so as he worked for Adil's father and other family members only. The men then casually asked about Shamsuddin and whether he was "out yet'. Milon feigned ignorance and told them that he only knew that Shamsuddin was on leave. The men then told him that they knew that Adilur Rahman Khan was helping Shamsuddin get and had arranged for his lawyer. They also made Milon give them his cell number and told his they would be in touch. On 13 March an Audit Officer from the NGO Affairs Bureau paid a visit to Odhikar to carry out further investigation into Odhikar's projects. He told Odhikar in confidence that he was told to spend as much time as possible in the Odhikar office to dig out problems; since his earlier reports did not satisfy his superiors. He came to the Odhikar office at 11:00 am and left at 6:00 pm. He said he would return again. It must be noted here that fifty percent of the funds for Odhikar's EU-funded and EKN-funded projects have not been cleared by the NGO Affairs Bureau. The Organization will not be able to pay its current staff after March 2014. Six staff have already left Odhikar due to financial and security reasons. Funds Frozen Since the NGO Affairs Bureau (under the Prime Minister's Office) has barred Odhikar from receiving funds, Odhikar staff did not receive their salaries in April 2014. They have been given a basic amount of payment from Odhikar's reserve funds. The situation will be the same in May. Staff Intimidated Mohammad Ziauddin, is the head teacher of the Rizia Nasrin Asiya Motalleb High School in Chittagong. He has been a human rights defender associated with Odhikar since 2008. Along with other documents, he submitted a certificate he received from an Odhikar- Minority Rights Group training on "Minority Friendly Inclusive Education' to the School Management Committee of his School (SMC). On receiving this, the SMC asked him to stay away from Odhikar. He no longer feels secure to work with Odhikar. Syeda Rakha Pervin has also been a human rights defender associated with Odhikar from 2008. On 11 August 2013, she organised a human chain in Chittagong demanding the release of Adilur Rahman Khan. After this event, police visited her home and her workplace to inquire about her and to tell her to cut off all association with Odhikar. Since then, she in unable to participate in Odhikar's local level activities.

On 9 January 2013, the Prime Minister announced the tranfer of all non-government all primary schools, both registered and non-registered to Governmental control and funding. However, secondary schools were not included in such process which provoked discontent from teachers and employees from these schools who decided to hold a series of protests. On 10 January 2013, a group of teachers was dispersed by police forces which used teargas and pepper spray, whose chemical composition was reportedly particularly toxic. Protestors were conducting a peaceful hunger strike, by sitting in front of the National Press Club and later gathering at the Central Shaheed Minar premises. According to sources, at least 20 teachers were injured in the course of the dispersal, of whom 10 had to be taken to the Dhaka Medical Hospital. It is alleged that Mr. Maulana Sekander Ali, a teacher who participated in the assembly and protested in a peaceful manner, died in Patuakhali five days after the police's intervention. It is reported that a journalist working for the TV channel Somoy was also injured in the course of the police operation. On 12 January 2013, another group of hunger strikers reportedly gathered at the Central Shaheed Minar premises. Police forces allegedly dispersed them. Subsequently, it is further reported that they formed a human chain on a nearby road at Dhaka University, but they were dispersed again. Both dispersions were allegedly executed using batons and pepper spray. On 13 January 2013, some protesters were allegedly dispersed while peacefully assembling before the National Human Rights Commission's office premises. Police forces reportedly used a water cannon and pepper spray. On 15 January 2013, a group of demonstrators went to Manik Mia Avenue to start a hunger strike. Sources state that the police set up barricades in order to block them at a corner of the avenue. After being dispersed, a group of teachers went to Sobhanbagh to stage a sit-in before the building Prince Plaza. It is alleged that police officers dispersed them by using tear shells and water cannons. On 18 January 2013, the teachers reportedly decided to postpone their demonstrations for three months after assurances were given that the Minister of Education would meet them. On 21 January 2013, the High Court Division of the Supreme Court issued a ruling giving the Government a deadline of three weeks to explain why the police could use pepper spray on demonstrators. The ruling was issued following a writ petition, filed by a Supreme Court lawyer.

Alleged attack on, and stabbing of, a prominent blogger in Dhaka. According to the information received, on 14 January 2013, Mr. Asif Mohiuddin was attacked by three unidentified men as he was leaving his office in Uttara district. He was stabbed several times in the neck and back and was in critical condition at the time of sending the communication. Mr. Mohiuddin is a prominent blogger, whose Bengali language blog ?Almighty only in name, but impotent in reality? is reportedly one of the most visited websites in Bangladesh. In his blog, Mr. Mohiuddin, who is an atheist, frequently criticized religion, and also provided commentaries on free speech and other human rights issues.

On 11 December 2012, police allegedly beat and subsequently detained two photographers, Mr. Amran Hossain and Mr. Sourav Laskar, working for the Daily Star and New Age newspapers respectively. The two were briefly arrested, their equipment confiscated and allegedly beaten by policemen. Both were released later the same day. The two photographers were reportedly covering clashes between the police and supporters of the opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party, taking photos of burning tires. The police, lead by Mamun Sirajul Haque, allegedly accused them of setting the fire and proceeded to beat them, despite the two 2 photographers showing their press identification cards. The two journalists were subsequently taken to a police station in the town of Shimrail, and allegedly beaten again. Later on, both journalists were taken to another police station in Siddhirganj, where their mobile phones and cameras were confiscated according to reports. Mr. Laskar's camera was allegedly smashed on the floor by the police. The two journalists were reportedly released in the afternoon on the same day and Mr. Mamun Sirajul Haque was suspended in connection with the incident.

The Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (Forum-Asia), a Bangkok-based regional human rights group with 47 member organisations from 16 countries across Asia, urged the government of Bangladesh to rescind the proposed amendment to the Information and Communication Technology Act 2006 (ICT Act). The proposed ICT Act is "riddled with legal irregularities and poses a serious threat to the exercise of the right to freedom of opinion and expression in the country," according to a FORUM-ASIA press release received in Dhaka on Thursday. It said a cabinet meeting on 19 August 2013 has hastily cleared the amendments to the ICT Act by citing the need for the provisions to be urgently implemented in the form of an ordinance. Under the present ICT Act, offences are non-cognizable and bailable. The amendment, however, aims to classify some offences as cognizable and non-bailable, thereby allowing law enforcement officials to arrest without obtaining a warrant. The amendment also sets a minimum punishment of seven years imprisonment for all such offences without taking into consideration the nature and gravity of the violation. Maximum punishment under the ICT Act has also been increased from ten years to fourteen years imprisonment. "Despite the parliament session being scheduled shortly in September 2013, the government of Bangladesh, having approved this ordinance, disregarded constitutional norms," the media release said. "The government has thus stripped the people's representatives of their legitimate right to discuss and debate the proposed provisions of the amendment. Reports suggest that the ordinance is likely to receive the assent of the President soon, after which it will come into effect." It said the proposed amendment by way of an ordinance to the ICT Act comes at a time when the government of Bangladesh has become increasingly intolerant towards voices of dissent and criticism. "The ordinance is certainly a further blow to the environment for the Bangladeshi people to exercise their fundamental freedom of opinion and expression. Measures such as this being put in place ahead of national elections in late 2013 can only be viewed as a serious attack on democracy," deplored Evelyn Balais-Serrano, Executive Director of FORUM-ASIA. She said the recent arrest of a prominent human rights defender Adilur Rahman Khan, secretary of a local human rights organisation Odhikar, on August 10 for the alleged offences under the ICT Act has resulted in a sense of shock among the local and international human rights community.

On 4 September 2013, Mr. Nasiruddin Elan was charged under Section 57 of the ICT Act and Sections 505 (c) and 505A of the Penal Code, in relation to a fact-finding report issued by Odhikar on the killing of 61 people during an operation carried out on May 5-6, 2013 by security forces against Hefazat-e Islam activists in Dhaka. On September 11 2013, the Cyber Crimes Tribunal issued an arrest warrant against Mr. Elan. On 6 November 2013, Mr. Elan and his lawyers appeared before the Dhaka Cyber Crimes Tribunal and appealed for bail. At 12:20 in the afternoon Judge Shamsul Alam rejected the plea for bail and ordered that Mr. Elan be arrested and taken to Dhaka Central Jail. UPDATE 13/11/13: A Joint Urgent Appeal (JUA) on Mr. Elan's case was addressed to Bangladesh by the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention; the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression; the Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association; and the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders. On 14 November 2013, Bangladesh acknowledged receipt of the communication, but provided no clarification on the matter.

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.

According to the information received, on November 11, 2018, the Daily Janakantha published an article by the newspaper's reporter Bibhash Baroi titled "The controversial organisation Odhikar is again involved in murky activities"[2]. In the article, Odhikar was accused of involvement in "various nefarious activities critical of the forthcoming elections[scheduled for December 30, 2018], the State and the government", "anti-State conspiracies", and "constantly spreading false propaganda against Bangladesh." The author of the article alleged that intelligence agencies recommended that the activities of Odhikar be shut down due to its "violating a circular issued by the Prime Minister's Office with regard to the NGO Bureau[NGOAB]" and its "taking cash money from donor agencies after funds were closed due to cessation of projects". In addition, the author himself recommended that "the registration of[Odhikar] be cancelled and all its activities stopped". The article also accused Odhikar of having published distorted and false information through a fact-finding report on the killing of civilians by security forces in May 2013, which had already led to the arbitrary arrest on trumped-up charges of Mr. Adilur Rahman Khan, Secretary of Odhikar, in August 2013 (see background information).

(Bangkok/Kathmandu, 20 September 2018) - The Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM ASIA) strongly denounces the passage of the controversial Digital Security Bill yesterday by the Bangladesh Parliament. Several sections of this Bill fall short of international human rights standards and pose serious threats to the freedom of expression and the press. The new law carries up to 14 years of imprisonment for recording government officials or conducts that amount to spreading "negative propaganda.' Furthermore, section 43 allows police to search and arrest anyone without a court warrant, which violates the core principle of the criminal justice system. The Bangladesh Parliament passed the Bill despite protests and resistance from local journalists and civil society, who have urged for amendments of sections that muzzle free speech and dissent critical of the Government. The law enables the creation of a new agency that can use electronic media to monitor if the media contents "carry out propaganda,' "hurt religious sentiments' or "create enmity and disturb law and order.' Such contents constitute violations, and could lead to severe punishments including life imprisonment. Ranked 146 in the 2018 Global Press Freedom Index, the right to free speech and press freedom in Bangladesh has been deteriorating with the increasing violence and death threats against journalists and media. The culture of impunity has further aggravated the situation. In 2017, at least 25 journalists and several hundred bloggers and Facebook users were prosecuted under the Information and Communication Technology Act, which penalises defamatory and blasphemous contents.[1] According to Odhikar, a FORUM-ASIA member organisation in Bangladesh, 128 people have been arrested since 2014 under section 57 of the same Act. Suppressing people's constitutional right to free speech and threatening journalists reporting on issues such as corruption and government irregularities, the Bill will further legitimise the suppression of dissent and media freedom, which FORUM-ASIA strongly condemns. FORUM-ASIA strongly urges the Parliament of Bangladesh to drop the Digital Security Bill and create a conducive environment for media freedom and freedom of expression in general.

A Bangladeshi university lecturer has been suspended and detained for making allegedly derogatory remarks on Facebook about the prime minister, his lawyer said on Wednesday. A ruling-party activist filed a case against Maidul Islam under Bangladesh's notorious internet laws, which critics say are aimed at stifling dissent. The assistant sociology professor at Chittagong University posted the comments last month during massive protests over road safety that enraged Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's government. "He was sent to jail on Monday after he surrendered at a court in Chittagong," his lawyer Vulon Lal Bhowmik told AFP in the southeastern port city. On Tuesday he was suspended by the state-run university, the lawyer and an official of the school said. The arrest triggered protests by leftist groups who said they would organise a demonstration on Saturday. It came weeks after a top Bangladesh photographer and activist, Shahidul Alam, was arrested and denied bail over charges he made false and provocative comments during the protests in August. Alam had told Al Jazeera that the protests were the result of pent-up anger at corruption and an "unelected government... clinging on by brute force" that had looted banks and gagged the media. He is also being investigated for allegedly violating Bangladesh's internet laws, enacted in 2006 and sharpened in 2013 in the country of 165 million people. Alam - whose work has appeared widely in Western media and who founded the renowned Pathshala South Asian Media Institute - faces a maximum 14 years in jail if convicted, along with others detained during the protests. Bangladesh's parliament has since ratified a new digital security law, stipulating harsher punishment, despite widespread criticism by journalists and rights groups. Human Rights Watch on Tuesday said the law strikes a blow to freedom of speech, retaining the most problematic parts of the internet law and adding more provisions criminalising peaceful speech. In April, Bangladesh's most prestigious university suspended a professor for writing a column critical of Hasina's father and Bangladesh's first post-independence president, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. Morshed Hasan Khan was "suspended until further notice" from Dhaka University after he allegedly defamed Rahman, in an article published in a Bengali daily. Teachers have been punished in the past for stances critical of the former president. In August last year 13 high-school teachers were detained and remanded in custody ahead of a trial after being accused of sedition for remarks about him.

Polytechnic student Sifat and his elder brother Saifullah bin Mansur were picked up by detectives, along with some others, and taken to the Detective Branch (DB) office on Mintoo road on Wednesday. A day later, Sifat, along with some others, were released. But Saifullah and 11 others have neither been released nor produced before a court in the last five days. Alleging illegal confinement of students by DB of police, the families of the 12 detained students yesterday held a press conference in the city's Crime Reporters' Association and demanded that the students be freed or produced before the court immediately. As per the law, any detained person needs to be produced before a court within 24 hours of their detention. The 12 "detained students" are -- Saifullah, Al Amin, Jahirul Islam Hasib, Mujahidul Islam, Jahangir Alam, Gazi M Borhan Uddin, Tarek Aziz, Mahfuz, Raihanul Abedin, Iftekhar Alam, Tarek Aziz and Mehedi Hasan Rajib. "Police officials sometimes give assurances[that they are in custody] but sometimes they deny picking them up. We came to know from those who were released that our children are being tortured and are confined to the DB office...We are in fear about the fate of our children," said Mansur Rahman, father of Saifullah. "Sifat was tortured less than others and yet his narration of agony was horrifying," he said, quoting Sifat. More than two dozen students were picked up from different messes during raids at different points in Mohakhali and Tejgaon on Wednesday. The DB officials allegedly quizzed them about the quota movement and student protests for road safety, several family members told reporters at the briefing, quoting those released. Contacted, some police officials kept mum on the issue while DB Additional Commissioner Abdul Baten could not be reached for comments as he did not receive any calls to his phone. Meanwhile, Mansur claimed that his son Saifullah lived in Modhupur in Tangail with his family but started staying in Sifat's mess in Mohakhali after Eid to attend the training sessions of a pharmaceutical company he had recently joined. "Saifullah was in Tangail during both movements and he was in no way involved." "We are deeply concerned as we do not know what is going on...whether our sons have been killed or they are still alive," said another guardian. Enamul Haque, a guardian, told reporters in the briefing that his son Jahirul was staying in a mess at Tejkunipara and was taking coaching lessons for Dhaka University admission tests. "He was picked up on Wednesday. I went to the DB office several times. Sometimes they said they had him in custody and sometimes they denied it. We are in fear and uncertainty." He added that he had not been able to meet his son since he was picked up. Rashed Alam, brother of another detainee, Iftekhar, arrived in the city from Noakhali after being informed of his brother's detention by Iftekhar's neighbours. He still does not know for sure how or where his brother is. "Produce him before the court if he has committed a crime or release him otherwise," he appealed. Rafiqul Islam, father of Raihanul, could not hold back his tears when others were demanding a safe return of their sons. "Please ask them to release him as I toiled a lot for my son," requested Rafiqul, a driver by profession. The family members requested human rights organisations to be vocal against the confinement of their dear ones. Nur Khan Liton, a human rights activist, said, "Law enforcers are dodging the law to produce detainees before a court within 24 hours showing various excuses. This is against the law and action must be taken against those who practice it." He added that this practice has increased among some members of the law enforcers and unless it was stopped immediately, the public would lose faith in them. Around 150 persons, mostly students were arrested by police centring recent quota and student movement. Most of them were released on bail before Eid.

Police in Bangladesh's capital fired tear gas and rubber bullets Monday to disperse hundreds of demonstrating students, while a prominent human rights group demanded the release of an activist arrested for criticizing the government during more than a week of protests. Shahidul Alam, a well-known photographer and activist, was arrested Sunday by plain-clothed police after giving a television interview in which he said Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina had no credibility and was using "brute force" to cling to power. A court in Dhaka ordered him to be confined for seven days for questioning on charges of spreading false information and propaganda against the government. Amnesty International called for Alam's immediate release, with Deputy South Asia Director Omar Waraich saying in a statement that the arrest "marks a dangerous escalation of a crackdown by the government." The traffic chaos of the past week began easing on Monday, as immense demonstrations gave way to sporadic protests, though hundreds of students clashed with police in Dhaka's Bashundhara area where some private universities are located. Police fired rubber bullets and protesters said at least 40 people, mostly students, were injured. Elsewhere, police used tear gas against protesters at Dhaka's East West University and students marched through the Dhaka University campus chanting anti-government slogans and demanding justice. The protests, set off by the deaths of two students killed by speeding buses, grew last week to tens of thousands of people, becoming a major embarrassment to Hasina's government, which faces a general election later this year. On Monday, Bangladesh's Cabinet endorsed a draft law that would increase the maximum punishment for an accident leading to death to five years in jail, up from the current three years. Cabinet Secretary Mohammad Shafiul Alam said the bill will be submitted to Parliament soon for passage. The student protesters have demanded tougher punishment for offenses involving road accidents. On Sunday, pro-government youth groups attacked protesters and at least five journalists, including an Associated Press photographer. Hasina's party is blaming the main opposition party, led by former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia, and its main ally Jamaat-e-Islami, saying they are manipulating student anger to foment trouble. Authorities have warned of tougher measures if the protests are used to create chaos. UPDATE: On 16 August 2018, it was estimated that the toll of students detained has now reached 97.

August 5, 2018--A group of men who said they were from the detective branch of Dhaka police today took Shahidul Alam, a photographer, commentator, and the founder of the Bangladeshi multimedia organization Drik and Pathshala Media Institute, from his home, hours after he posted a video to Facebook about protests in the city, according to news reports. At least five journalists were attacked at the student protests, including a photographer for The Associated Press who was briefly hospitalized, according to the AP. "Bangladesh authorities must immediately release Shahidul Alam without charge," said CPJ Asia Program Coordinator Steven Butler in Washington, D.C. "Authorities should also ensure that Alam and all journalists covering unrest in Dhaka are able to work without fear of attack or arrest." Security guards at Alam's apartment building were cited in reports as saying that a group of at least 40 people, who said they were from the detective branch, forcibly pushed the photographer, screaming, into a car. The group allegedly broke the building's CCTV cameras and disconnected its intercom system, before taking him away, according to the same report. A few hours before, Alam posted a video on the protests to Facebook and was interviewed by Al-Jazeera. Local news reports differed in their accounts of the arrest. The United News of Bangladesh reported that police said Alam was detained for questioning over his Facebook post. The Daily Star cited a deputy commissioner who said police were investigating reports of his detention. CPJ's calls to the Dhaka Metropolitan Police Commissioner's phone and detective branch went unanswered and an email to the metropolitan commissioner did not receive an immediate response. CPJ's call to the additional commissioner was disconnected after the person who answered said he could not confirm the arrest. CPJ's call to the Dhanmondi police station went unanswered. CPJ has documented multiple attacks on journalists in recent weeks in Bangladesh.

Amar Desh acting Editor Mahmudur Rahman was hurt in an attack launched allegedly by Bangladesh Chhatra League men in Kushtia today. The onslaught came shortly after Rahman got bail in a case filed over demeaning Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. As our local correspondent reports, around 100 activists of the ruling party men positioned themselves outside the courtroom, led by Chhatra League's district President Tushar Ahmed. Mahmudur Rahman, who was granted bail by Kushtia Senior Judicial Magistrate MM Morshed, was first locked up inside the courtroom and then attacked after he emerged after 3:30pm. Brick chips were hurled targeting his car. Mahmudur Rahman was hit on the head by a brick chip. Last reported, he took shelter at the chamber of a local Awami League leader. While positioning themselves, BCL leader Tushar Ahmed told reporters: "We are waiting for him, and when he will come out of the courtroom. We want to know how he dares to make derogatory comments about Bangabandhu and Sheikh Hasina." This correspondent tried to talk to the high officials of police in the district but nobody agreed to make any comment on the issue. On December 10, 2017, BCL leader Tushar filed the defamation lawsuit with the Kushtia court over "demeaning comments" made by Mahmudur Rahman in a programme back on December 1, 2017, according to case statements. Mahmudur Rahman was sued in several districts over his remark.

Quota reform campaigner of Rajshahi University Toriqul Islam was apparently forced out of hospital with his injuries. Toriqul's sister Fatima Khatun said she told the physicians at Rajshahi Medical College Hospital that her brother was not fit enough to leave the hospital. But the doctors did not pay heed, she alleged. "What offence has my brother committed? Can't he get treatment at the government hospital?" Fatema asked. Toriqul, a joint convenor of the quota reform platform Sadharon Chhatra Odhikar Songrokkhon Parishad unit at Rajshahi University (RU), was admitted to hospital with serious injuries on Tuesday after an attack by activists of the Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL). Toriqul was asked to leave the hospital on Thursday afternoon though he was still groaning in pain. He was then taken to a private hospital in the city's Lakkhipur area. On anonymity, a physician at the medical college hospital said one of his legs was broken and he might need an operation. The city's Matihar police station officer-in-charge (OC), Shahadat Hossain said there are no allegations against Toriqul. When asked then why he was kept under the police guard, the OC said he was given police protection for security reasons. The police then allowed the reporter to speak with Toriqul. "I dream to sit for BCS examination after finishing my graduation. I wish I were a BCS cadre. But, my father's woes...," Toriqul voice choked up and tears prevented him from speaking further. Toriqul, son of a farmer, has a brother and a sister. "I requested them not to beat me, but they didn't pay heed. One of them beat me with a stick and I lost last all strength. I couldn't say anything," Toriqul described the horrific moment of the attack. When asked why Toriqul was released from the hospital despite complaints from his relations, assistant professor of orthopaedics department Subrata Kumar Pramanik said the necessary treatment he needs has been given. If the "positioning' is okay, the bandage will be enough to heal him. Patients with such injuries are usually released at this stage, he added. Identities of the attackers A video footage shot during the attack shows Abdullah Al Mamun, an activist of Bangladesh Chhatra League unit at the university, beat Toriqul with a hammer. Mamun is a student of the sociology department of the university. A certain Latiful Kabir alias Manik was also seen brandishing a machete during the attack. Latiful is a student of history department of the university. Mehedi Hossan alias Mishu, organising secretary of the BCL and student of sociology department of the university, was seen brandishing a large stick in the video footage. When asked, Mehedi confessed his involvement in the attack. History department's 4th year student Ramijul Islam alias Rimu was also seen kicking Toriqul's head. Ramijul is a vice president of BCL. Ramijul also confessed his involvement in the attack. Also, BCL's organising secretary and law department's 4th year student Hassan Laban, BCL's RU unit vice president and applied mathematics student Ahmed Sajib and BCL's Bangabandhu Hall unit vice president Mizanur Rahman Sinha were also among the attckers. "A lot of Shibir (student wing of Jamaat-e-Islami) men entered the campus in the name of quota movement. Chhatra League was trying to check any possible instability on the campus," said BCL's RU unit general secretary. Asked about the attack on Toriqul, he said the incident took place while fighting them back. Protest RU teacher at the economics department Farid Khan said those who did this must face exemplary punishment. He called on the students to walk barefoot to the Shaheed Zoha memorial on the campus protesting at the attack. Meanwhile, in press conference, 14 teachers of the mass communication and journalism department have demanded punishment for the attackers.

Faruk Hossain, a Dhaka University student who is one of leaders of the ongoing demonstration demanding quota reforms, has been missing since Monday. His brother has complained about his disappearance, but the police said they did not know anything about 'someone named Faruk'. Faruk Hossain, joint convenor of Sadharon Chhatra Odhikar Songrokhon Parishad, was allegedly picked up by the ruling party-backed student activists from Central Shaheed Minar area in the capital on Monday morning. Following Faruk's disappearance, his brother Md Ariful Islam searched for him at the Shahbag, Ramna, New Market police stations on Tuesday, but he was not found anywhere. On Monday, activists of Bangladesh Chhatra League attacked a human chain of quota reform activists led by Faruk on the Central Shaheed Minar premises. A member of the ruling party student wing later picked up Faruk and handed over him to the Shahbag police station. Faruk's brother Ariful told Prothom Alo that a certain Al Amin, a member of Bangladesh Chhatra League, confessed to him that he took Faruk to Shahbag police station. The BCL activist Al Amin also told Prothom Alo that he took Faruk to Shahbag police station by motorbike on Monday. When contacted over phone and SMS, Shahbag police station officer-in-charge Abu Hasan did not respond. At one stage, the Shahbag police station on-duty officer Ramzan Hossain answered the phone and told Prothom Alo that there was no one named Faruk at the police station. No case was filed against Faruk with the police station either, he added.

Tarek Rahman, a leader of the ongoing demonstration demanding quota reforms in public services, has been missing since Saturday, his family said. Tarek, himself a jobseeker who had Master's degree from Comilla University, went to a Fakirapool shop on Saturday evening for printing some banners and papers for the quota reform demonstration and since then he could not be traced anywhere, said Tarek's family quoting his friends. Another leader of the quota reform movement, and a Dhaka University student, Faruk Hassan, disappeared on 2 July but he was later found in police custody. Shown arrested on 3 July, he is now in jail on completion of two-day police remand and he was denied bail on Sunday. Tarek's sister Tanjila Yasmin told Prothom Alo, "He was threatened in many ways since he joined the quota reform demonstration. We last talked to him over phone on Saturday at 3:00pm." "In the evening, we came to know from Tarek's friends that he went missing. His phone is found switched off," she added. Tarek is a joint convener of Bangladesh General Students' Rights Protection Council, a platform which is leading the demonstration. He is also preparing himself for the Bangladesh Civil Service (BCS) examinations, staying in Dhaka after completing his Master of Business Administration (MBA) from Comilla University. His mother Shahana Begum went to Shahbagh police station around 12:30am on Sunday to file a general diary (GD) over Tarek's disappearance. The police received Tarek's details and told her to wait for one day. Contacted, the Shahbagh police station officer-in-charge (OC) told Prothom Alo that he knew nothing about it.

Unidentified assailants have gunned down a publisher and writer in Munshiganj's Sirajdikhan Upazila. Four attackers on two motorcycles fled after shooting at Shahzahan Bachchu of Bishaka Prokashoni, known as a free-thinking writer, at his ancestral village Kakaldi on Monday afternoon, police said. The 65-year-old former general secretary of the Communist Party of Bangladesh or CPB's Munshiganj district unit, died on the spot, Munshiganj Additional Superintendent of Police Asaduzzaman told bdnews24.com. The body was sent to Munshiganj General Hospital for post-mortem examination. Bachchu's daughter Durba Zahan said in a Facebook post that his father was shot twice. One of her friends commented on the post that some unidentified person called Durba on her mobile phone and informed her about the death. When Durba dialled her father's number, police received the call and confirmed it. Mazharul Islam, a former president of publishers' association Bangladesh Gyan O Srijonsheel Prokashok Samiti, said Banglabazar-based Bishakha Prokashoni published books of well-known poets like Nirmalendu Goon and Mahadev Saha. "Bachchu was a polite person," he recalled. Current President Farid Ahmed said Bishakha was not a member of the association. Deaths of secular writers, bloggers, online activists and a publisher in attacks by suspected Islamist militants shook Bangladesh for months after the murder of Avijit Roy near the Amar Ekushey Book Fair in Dhaka on Feb 26, 2015. Avijit's publisher Faisal Arefin Dipan, who ran Jagriti Prokashoni, was also hacked to death on Oct 31 the same year. Ahmedur Rashid Tutul of publisher Shuddhaswar was attacked and injured the same day. Militant groups claimed credit for most of these attacks and the law enforcers arrested many radical Islamists in connection with the attacks. It was not immediately clear who were behind the murder of Bachchu.

Bangladeshi police detained and later released a leader of a secular movement that was preparing to protest stepped-up anti-narcotics operations, officials said Wednesday, while the prime minister vowed to sustain the crackdown that has killed at least 130 people. The brief detention of activist Imran Sarkar took place the same day U.N. human rights chief Zeid Ra'ad al-Hussein condemned what he described as "extrajudicial killings" in Bangladesh since the government launched a "zero tolerance" campaign against illegal drugs three weeks ago. Sarkar, a spokesman for the grassroots movement known as Gonojagoron Moncho (Mass Awakening Platform), was "invited" for questioning at the Shahbag intersection in Dhaka after defying warnings not to organize a rally without a permit, Lt. Col. Mohammed Emranul Hasan, a commander of the Bangladeshi police's Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) wing, told BenarNews. "There are more cases against him," Hasan said, explaining that officials had warned Sarkar on Sunday not to pursue his well-publicized plan to hold rallies in the capital without prior permission from police. Witnesses said members of RAB took Sarkar to a police vehicle, as members of his group tried to form a human chain to protest the bloody anti-drug campaign. Hours later, Hasan told reporters that Sarkar had been released after undergoing interrogation. In 2013, Sarkar, former son-in-law of Education Minister Nurul Islam Nahid, led mass protests at the Shahbag intersection calling for the execution of alleged war criminals from the 1971 Bangladeshi war of independence from Pakistan and a ban on religion-based parties in Bangladesh. "A total disregard for the rule of law': UN official Since mid-May, at least 130 drug suspects have reportedly been shot dead and about 13,000 arrested by security forces across Bangladesh, according to a statement issued in Geneva by the U.N. human rights chief. "I am gravely concerned that such a large number of people have been killed, and that the Government reaction has been to assure the public that none of these individuals were "innocent' but that mistakes can occur in an anti-narcotics drive," Zeid said. "Such statements are dangerous and indicative of a total disregard for the rule of law," he said. Every person has the right to life, he emphasized. "People do not lose their human rights because they use or sell drugs," Zeid said. "The presumption of innocence and the right to due process must be at the forefront of any efforts to tackle crimes." However, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, in a speech at her official residence Wednesday, vowed to carry on with pursuing a drug-free Bangladesh. "The drives against militancy, terrorism and drugs will go on. We want to build a drug-militancy- and terrorism-free Bangladesh," the local Daily Star newspaper quoted Hasina as saying. "There'll be no room for injustice and unjust in the country." Hasina's government launched the anti-narcotics campaign to tackle the spread of yaba, a cheap stimulant in tablet form that contains methamphetamine and caffeine. Authorities estimate that about 300 million yaba pills were smuggled into Bangladesh from neighboring Myanmar last year. Bangladeshi rights activists and members of the political opposition have expressed fears that the violence could spiral into a campaign of mass killings similar to the Philippines, where rights groups say thousands of suspected drug users have been killed in alleged shootouts with police officers. Responding to Zeid's criticism, Bangladeshi Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal told Reuters: "We are not killing anyone. Our forces are compelled to fire back when they are fired at. We'll continue this drive to stamp out drugs to save our young generation." In his statement, Zeid also expressed concern that poor Bangladeshis were being targeted in the anti-drug campaign. Rights groups in the Philippines had said that slum dwellers were also mostly the victims of Manila's anti-drug war. During its Universal Periodic Review before the U.N. Human Rights Council on May 14, Bangladesh vowed to investigate reports of extrajudicial executions, arbitrary arrests and other serious violations, Zeid said. "The developments since that date, with increasing reports of such human rights violations, are deeply worrying," Zeid said. The killings began the day after that review, the U.N. official noted.

Around 1:30pm yesterday, three leaders of the quota reform movement were in a rickshaw heading towards the Dhaka Medical College Hospital. All of a sudden, a group of gun-toting men appeared there, identified themselves as detectives and allegedly dragged the trio into a white microbus. The three were made to wear helmets and at one point "blindfolded" after the vehicle left the place. The leaders -- Nurulhaq Nur, Muhammad Rashed Khan and Faruk Hasan -- are joint conveners of Bangladesh Shadharan Chhatra Odhikar Sangrakkhan Parishad, a platform of students who had been demonstrating for reforms in the country's quota system in civil service. Nurul is a master's student of Dhaka University English department while Rashed and Faruk are former students of the university's Banking and Insurance department and Institute of Disaster Management and Vulnerability Studies. All the fellow protesters were in the dark about their whereabouts until detectives admitted detaining and taking the three to the DB office on Minto Road for "questioning". They were released around 2:30pm. The way the three were picked up caused a furore among other protesters with many of them comparing the incident with enforced disappearance. Rights organisation Ain o Salish Kendra expressed deep concern over such an "attitude" of the law enforcing agencies. Although police said they took the three students for verification of some information and "showing them some video clips", the trio claimed that they were neither quizzed nor shown any videos. When the three were being picked up in Dhaka, police in Jhenidah interrogated Rashed's father Nabai Biswas, a mason, to know whether the family had any political affiliation, claimed Nabai. He said he was not linked with any political party or its affiliated bodies. Talking to reports in front of DU Central Library, the trio narrated how they were picked up. "As soon as we reached near the emergency gate of the DMCH, some people wielding revolvers and identifying themselves as detectives dragged us inside the microbus," Nurul said. They were made to wear helmets, he said, adding that the plainclothes men brought towels and "blindfolded" them after the vehicle reached Gulistan. "I thought I was about to die. I asked for forgiveness from the Almighty," Nurul said. "We were able to return possibly as many people saw us[being picked up] in front of the Dhaka Medical College Hospital. If that had not happened we doubt whether we could ever come back," he added. Asked, Nurul said none of them was assaulted. Last week, the country witnessed a widespread movement of students of public and private universities across the country, demanding reforms to the quota system. The protesters blocked key points in the capital and also roads and highways elsewhere for four days to press home their five-point demand, including reducing the quota privilege to 10 percent from 56, crippling the traffic system. The movement turned violent on April 8 night after police fired tear gas and rubber bullets, used water cannons and charged truncheons to disperse demonstrators who blocked the Shahbagh intersection for over five hours. Clashes continued throughout the night, leaving around 163 people injured. A group of unidentified youths vandalised the vice chancellor's residence on the campus. On Wednesday, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in parliament announced that there would be no quota in government jobs and asked the students to end the demonstration. The students complied with that. On April 11, the DU authorities and police filed five cases with Shahbagh Police Station against a huge number of unidentified people. Four of the cases were filed over vandalism, arson and obstructing lawmen from performing their duties and the attack on the VC's residence. The other case was filed under the Information and Communication Technology Act for spreading rumours online during the movement. YESTERDAY'S INCIDENT Several leaders from the student platform's central committee were going to restaurants in Chankharpool for lunch. But before that, they wanted to visit their fellow demonstrators who were injured and being treated at the DMCH. "As soon as we reached near the emergency gate of the Dhaka Medical College Hospital, three to four motorbikes intercepted the rickshaw carrying the three students," said Bin Yamin, a student who was in another rickshaw nearby. "Two white microbuses with tinted glasses came and the three were dragged into one of the microbuses," he said, adding that he along with others present at the scene spread the news. At the briefing, Nurul said, "We saw hundreds of people in front of Dhaka Medical College Hospital. We screamed for help but none came to our rescue." Nurul claimed that as the blindfold was removed and he opened his eyes, he found himself and the other two in a room. Later, they found that they were at the DB office. "We were told that we would be quizzed. Some video clips would be shown. They also said there were possibilities of attacks on us. But we were neither shown any video clip nor interrogated," he said. The officials of the Detective Branch (DB) of Police released them around 2:30pm. "When the honourable prime minister announced that our demands would be met, we brought out a joyous procession, welcoming the decision. Yet, we are repeatedly being threatened that we will be disappeared and killed," he said. Contacted, Debdas Bhattacharya, additional commissioner of DB, said the three students were taken to the DB office to know whether they could give us any information or identify those who attacked the VC's residence. "They left the DB office after we got the information," he told The Daily Star. Replying to a query, Debdas said they did not get any significant information from them. Asked about the student's allegation that they were dragged into the vehicle and were not asked anything, Devdas said he was not aware of any such incident. This newspaper called DB (South) Deputy Commissioner Jamil Hasan several times over phone but he did not receive the calls. RASHED'S FATHER QUIZZED Rashed's father Nabai lives in a tin-shed house in Jhenidah Sadar's Muraridah village. The father of three told The Daily Star that he was asked to go to Jhenidah Police Station around 1:30pm. Asked, he claimed that he did not have any political link. His neighbour Mahmudul Hasan also said he did not see anyone from Nabai's family taking part in any political activities, reports our Jhenidah correspondent. Emdadul Haque Sheikh, officer-in-charge of the police station, said Nabai was taken there for questioning "following a newspaper report". In Dhaka, Rashed told the reporters, "They are trying to force my father into confessing that he belongs to Jamaat-Shibir and his son is a Shibir man." "My father is a day labour. He toiled a lot to send me to this university. He has not committed any crime," he said. "What is the fault of my father? Why police hurled abuses at him?" he said in tears. "And what is our fault?" he said, adding: "I want justice." Earlier in the morning, the Bangladesh Shadharan Chhatra Odhikar Sangrakkhan Parishad held a press conference, protesting a report by Daily Ittefaq. The report mentioned Rashed as an active Shibir activist. The parishad leaders claimed that they had no political affiliation and termed the report "baseless and politically motivated". Later the newspaper withdrew the report from its online version and apologised for publishing it. At the briefing, the student leaders also demanded that the authorities concerned withdraw the cases within the next two days. Otherwise, they threatened that they would wage a tougher movement. They demanded the arrest of the miscreants involved in the attack on the VC's residence and urged not to harass any student in the university dormitories.

Unidentified criminals attacked a house and abducted two leaders of United People's Democratic Front-backed Hill Women's Federation from Kudukchari in Rangamati on Sunday. The attackers abducted Hill Women's Federation central committee general secretary Monty Chakma and its Rangamati district unit general secretary Dayasona Chakma at gunpoint and also burnt down the house of Democratic Youth Forum leader Dharma Sing Chakma after firing gunshots at the house leaving Dharma injured. The UPDF in a press release said the attackers had come riding a vehicle of security forces and "during their operation, security patrol on Rangamati-Khagrachari road was intensified'. The abductors took Monty and Dayasona through the jungle beside Buddhist temple at Kudukchari, said UPDF publication and publicity affairs secretary Niran Chakma. UPDF leader Michael Chakma said the two women leaders were being targeted by security forces for long. "Monty Chakma was an eyewitness to many incidents that had taken place before and after the death of college student Romel Chakma in law enforcers' custody and Dayasona had visited the two Marma sisters at Rangamati hospital several times amid tight security when the sisters were admitted there after being sexually assaulted,' he said. UPDF-backed Hill Women's Federation, Parbatya Chattagram Nari Sangha and Ghilachari Nari Nirjatan Protirodh Committee protested at the attack and abduction by blocking Khagrachari-Rangamati road immediately after the incident. They also went out on demonstrations in Khagrachari, Chittagong and Dhaka protesting at the abduction. The blockade was, however, withdrawn when police and army personnel strengthened their patrol. Rangamati Kotwali police officer-in-charge Satyajit Barua claimed that one UPDF man was critically injured during a gunfight between two groups of UPDF over establishing supremacy in the hills. He said the UPDF had alleged that two of their women leaders were abducted. The police officer said they were investigating the matter though no case was lodged till Sunday night. The Chittagong Hill Tracts Commission in a statement expressed concerns at the abduction of two leaders. In a statement signed by its co-chairs, Sultana Kamal, Elsa Stamatopoulou and Myrna Cunningham Kain, the commission asked the local authorities to take appropriate measures to rescue the abducted leaders.

DHAKA: One of Bangladesh's top writers was attacked and injured in the northern city of Sylhet on Saturday, police said, the latest in a series of attacks on authors and bloggers. Police said Zafar Iqbal, a celebrated secular activist and bestselling science fiction writer, was rushed to a hospital in Sylhet after the attack. "He was hit on the back of his head and he was bleeding," a police constable posted at the hospital told AFP, speaking on condition of anonymity. Abdul Wahab, a spokesman for the Sylhet city police, confirmed the incident, saying police suspect he was attacked with a knife. "He was in a seminar when he was attacked. His gunman caught an attacker," he told AFP, referring to Iqbal's police guard. Bangladesh's government provides security for the country's top secular writers and activists. Police do not know how many people were involved in the attack nor whether they belonged to any Islamist extremist groups, he said. "He has been taken to the operating theatre," he said. Iqbal, who teaches at a state-run university in Sylhet, is a longstanding a champion of free speech and secularism in Bangladesh. He is also a top selling author and celebrity speaker who regularly appears at university campuses nationwide. Suspected Islamist extremists have carried out a series of attacks on secular and atheist writers and bloggers in the last four years, killing around a dozen of them including a top Bangladesh origin American atheist blogger. Police have blamed homegrown Islamist extremist group Ansarullah Bangla Team, also known as Ansar al Islam, which is linked with Al Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent for most of the attacks.

FEB 18: Chakma Circle Chief Raja Devasish Roy's spouse Rani Yan Yan was assaulted on Thursday, 15 February 2018 around 7-8 pm while she was at the Rangamati General Hospital with two girls from her community, who were sexually violated on 22 January. The following account is based on her own narrative and that of a woman volunteer who was also assaulted along with her. Around 12 noon on 15 February, a large number of policemen in uniform and around 10 plains clothed men brought the victims' parents to the ward where the victims have been unlawfully confined since 24 January. The police produced an order from the High Court and asked the parents to take their daughters away. Both of the victims refused to leave with their parents. The police repeatedly told the parents to grab them and take them away ("dhore niye jaan'). At one point, being so incited by the police, the father slapped one of the victims and at another point, the mother slapped another one of the victims. Rani and her volunteers intervened. Additional Superintendent of Police (ASP) Siddiqui ordered the women police to drag the victims out of the ward. Rani and the volunteers intervened stating that the court order, although providing custody to the parents, did not provide for the use of force to take them away against their wishes, and therefore, that the victims would have to be arrested in order to be forcibly taken away from the hospital. When the victims requested to see their lawyers, who were refused entry to the hospital ward at that point of time by uniformed police and plains clothed men, this was at first refused. After the Rani and the volunteers intervened, the victims' lawyers were reluctantly allowed to enter the ward but were only allowed 10 minutes. The police repeatedly asked the Rani and the volunteers to leave the scene. They refused. Around 4pm, all the volunteers were ordered to leave the ward. One of the volunteers (a 21 year old young woman) refused to leave the side of the Rani and she stayed with her as the events unfolded. Around 6 pm, the police locked the door of the ward. The Rani and the sole woman volunteer could see through an upstairs window that uniformed soldiers of the army and plains clothed men were chasing away all the people who were present on the road in front of the hospital entrances on two sides. Around 7 pm, the lights of the corridors of both the 1st floor and 2nd floor and common public spaces were turned off. Around 7-30 pm, eight to ten women in civilian clothes, wearing scarves and/or mouth masks, and around six men in civilian clothes wearing mouth masks, and who were issuing orders to the group of women, entered the ward and attacked the Rani and the woman volunteer in the presence of the victims, their parents and their 10-year old brother. The masks of some of the men and women came off during the scuffle, but they did not seem to care to put them on again. They kicked and punched Rani Yan Yan and the other woman volunteer, who were both thrown to the ground and beaten further. The volunteer was not only beaten, but sexually molested by the men, while the women held her and dragged her down the stairs. Both were dragged out physically into the corridor and then downstairs. This group was then joined by another six men downstairs, in civilian clothes. After dragging the Rani and the woman volunteer downstairs, the group of attackers separated the two, and while they took the Rani to the rear corridor, they took the volunteer to the corridor leading to the front foyer. While the Rani was being beaten and dragged to the rear corridor leading to the rear entrance of the hospital, she heard the attackers saying: "If we are to finish this off, we cannot do it here, it has to be done outside the hospital," ("Shesh Korte Holei Ekhaane Kawra Jaabe Na, Korle Hashpataler Baaire Korte Hobei'). She was thrown out of the hospital with a punch on her left side of the head, probably to make her disoriented. She saw more plains clothed men outside. However, it was a well-lit premise and people gathered in front of different structures within the hospital premises could see her and the plains clothes men. The plains clothes men kept an eye on her. Rani took that chance of visibility, and ran to the nearest boundary wall and crossed over it. She ran for 10-15 minutes in the dark and found herself at the lakeside. She immersed herself in the water and stayed there for about half an hour. Later she made her way to a nearby house, and sought refuge and help. The family contacted her relatives, who came and transported her to a safer location. In the mean time, the woman volunteer was taken to the front entrance, where a silver-coloured van, along with jeeps (SUVs), was stationed. The attackers kept her on the floor, occasionally beating her, while others brought the victims and their parents from upstairs and put them into the van. During the chaos of putting the victims into the van, the volunteer seized the opportunity and ran upstairs; and hid herself in one of the wards' store rooms. From there she rang others, including Chakma Chief, Raja Devasish Roy, letting them know what had happened and that she didn't know where the Rani was, as she had last seen the Rani being dragged along the rear entrance corridor. The Chakma Chief, also an advocate at the High Court Division, was at the time boarding a plane from Dhaka to travel to Chittagong, after having addressed the Hon'ble High Court Division and the Hon'ble Appellate Division's Chamber Judge on the matter.

A 25-year-old Bangladeshi blogger has been arrested at the Dhaka airport on charges of writing blasphemous posts on social media, police said today. The blogger, Asaduzzaman Noor aka Asad Noor, was on the run after the head of an Islamic seminary filed a case against him on January 11 this year under the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Act, bdnews24.com reported. He was arrested from Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka while trying to board a Kathmundu-bound flight, a senior police official was quoted as saying. Immigration police said that Mr Noor was detained after his passport number raised red flag in the immigration system at the airport. Mr Noor was charged under Bangladesh's strict internet laws and could face up to 14 years in jail if found guilty. Hundreds of Muslims had staged demonstrations against Mr Noor this year after Bangladesh Islami Andolon Amtali unit President Mufti Omar Farooq filed the case against him. Comments: In recent years, Islamist extremists have hacked to death a dozen bloggers, publishers and activists, and forced several others to flee the country. Following the attacks, the government launched a crackdown on extremist groups.

A case was filed against Asad Nur on January 11 this year under ICT act for a blog post which allegedly carried defamatory languages against the prophet. Police have arrested a blogger from Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport on Monday evening on charge of defaming Prophet Mohammad (pbuh) in a blog post. According to the officer-in-charge of Barguna's Amtali police station, the blogger Asaduzzaman Nur, more commonly known as Asad Nur, have been on the run after a case was filed against him on January 11 this year under ICT act. The case was filed for a blog post which allegedly carried defamatory languages against the prophet. OC Shahid Ullah also said police sources confirmed that Asad, an Amtali denizen and son of one Tofazzal Hossain, fled to India as soon as he learned about the case. Limon Fakir, a known associate of Asad, had also been arrested in this connection. "We[Amtali police] notified the immigration police about Asad's status at the time," the OC said. An immigration police official, wishing anonymity, said Asad Nur has been detained after his passport number raised red flag in the immigration system at the airport. The immigration official also said Asad was holding a boarding pass of a Kathmundu-bound flight.

A Bangladeshi human rights lawyer on Wednesday said he sought police protection after complaining about death threats received for writing about and advocating for his country's LGBT community. Shahanur Islam Saikot said unidentified men, whom he suspected were militants, repeatedly threatened him over the phone, with the latest two calls made on Nov. 9. The death threats, including ones sent on Facebook, began in October. "On Oct. 19 and 23, some unidentified callers threatened to kill me if I did not stop writing in favor of the LGBT people in Bangladesh. They tagged me as an atheist and reminded me of dire consequences," Saikot, a blogger and 2010 fellow of Switzerland-based rights group JusticeMakers, told BenarNews. The South Asian nation is where Muslim extremists carried out a spate of grisly killings targeting secular writers, intellectuals and LGBT activists in 2015 and 2016, according to Bangladeshi police. "I have been getting repeated threats on Facebook where I share my story in favor of the LGBT community," he said. "Who would threaten me on this issue other than the militants? The militants are behind the threats." Homosexual acts are outlawed in Saikot's Muslim-majority country. Defendants can be sentenced to life in prison if found guilty of sodomy, but the law is not seriously enforced, according to a 2016 U.S. State Department country report on human rights in Bangladesh. Saikot said he filed a complaint with the police on Oct. 27 in northern Naogaon district, where he was when he received one of the threats over his phone. In his complaint, a copy of which was obtained by BenarNews, Saikot said the caller cursed him and told him to stop writing blogs perceived as favoring the LGBT community, whose initials stand for "lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender." "Otherwise, you would be sent to the other world to stop the writing completely," the caller said, according to Saikot. Home | News | Bengali news Bangladeshi Lawyer, LGBT Advocate Seeks Police Protection after Getting Death Threats Kamran Reza Chowdhury Dhaka 2017-11-15 Email story Comment on this story Share story Share Comment Email 171115-BD-lgbt-620.jpg Bangladeshi LGBT people pose in front of the Osmani Memorial Auditorium Complex in Dhaka during a rally marking World Aids Day, Dec. 1, 2015. Monirul Alam/BenarNews A Bangladeshi human rights lawyer on Wednesday said he sought police protection after complaining about death threats received for writing about and advocating for his country's LGBT community. Shahanur Islam Saikot said unidentified men, whom he suspected were militants, repeatedly threatened him over the phone, with the latest two calls made on Nov. 9. The death threats, including ones sent on Facebook, began in October. "On Oct. 19 and 23, some unidentified callers threatened to kill me if I did not stop writing in favor of the LGBT people in Bangladesh. They tagged me as an atheist and reminded me of dire consequences," Saikot, a blogger and 2010 fellow of Switzerland-based rights group JusticeMakers, told BenarNews. The South Asian nation is where Muslim extremists carried out a spate of grisly killings targeting secular writers, intellectuals and LGBT activists in 2015 and 2016, according to Bangladeshi police. "I have been getting repeated threats on Facebook where I share my story in favor of the LGBT community," he said. "Who would threaten me on this issue other than the militants? The militants are behind the threats." Homosexual acts are outlawed in Saikot's Muslim-majority country. Defendants can be sentenced to life in prison if found guilty of sodomy, but the law is not seriously enforced, according to a 2016 U.S. State Department country report on human rights in Bangladesh. Saikot said he filed a complaint with the police on Oct. 27 in northern Naogaon district, where he was when he received one of the threats over his phone. In his complaint, a copy of which was obtained by BenarNews, Saikot said the caller cursed him and told him to stop writing blogs perceived as favoring the LGBT community, whose initials stand for "lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender." "Otherwise, you would be sent to the other world to stop the writing completely," the caller said, according to Saikot. Gay activists slain Police said they were trying to track down suspects, but acknowledged the difficulty that investigators faced because they lacked proper technology needed to trace incoming calls. "We have yet to trace the people behind the threats. The numbers used for issuing threats are not local," Himel Roy, an additional superintendent at the Naogaon Police, told BenarNews. He said he would refer the case to the police in Dhaka, the nation's capital. Saikot expressed fears for his safety two days after a U.S.-based group, which monitors freedom of expression, underscored that internet freedom had declined in Bangladesh, citing a recent surge in the number of fatal attacks by religious extremists. Freedom House emphasized that religious extremists claimed responsibility for the April 2016 killing of Xulhaz Mannan, the founder of a magazine that promoted LGBT rights; as well as the spate of deadly machete attacks on secular bloggers, publishers and intellectuals. Police have determined that five to seven men killed Mannan and Mahbub Tonoy on April 25, 2016. But investigators have since made no significant headway and have arrested only one suspect, who was caught days after the attack. Al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS) claimed responsibility for the double-murder, but investigators have blamed a local militant group with AQIS leanings, Ansarullah Bangla Team, for carrying out the killings. Home | News | Bengali news Bangladeshi Lawyer, LGBT Advocate Seeks Police Protection after Getting Death Threats Kamran Reza Chowdhury Dhaka 2017-11-15 Email story Comment on this story Share story Share Comment Email 171115-BD-lgbt-620.jpg Bangladeshi LGBT people pose in front of the Osmani Memorial Auditorium Complex in Dhaka during a rally marking World Aids Day, Dec. 1, 2015. Monirul Alam/BenarNews A Bangladeshi human rights lawyer on Wednesday said he sought police protection after complaining about death threats received for writing about and advocating for his country's LGBT community. Shahanur Islam Saikot said unidentified men, whom he suspected were militants, repeatedly threatened him over the phone, with the latest two calls made on Nov. 9. The death threats, including ones sent on Facebook, began in October. "On Oct. 19 and 23, some unidentified callers threatened to kill me if I did not stop writing in favor of the LGBT people in Bangladesh. They tagged me as an atheist and reminded me of dire consequences," Saikot, a blogger and 2010 fellow of Switzerland-based rights group JusticeMakers, told BenarNews. The South Asian nation is where Muslim extremists carried out a spate of grisly killings targeting secular writers, intellectuals and LGBT activists in 2015 and 2016, according to Bangladeshi police. "I have been getting repeated threats on Facebook where I share my story in favor of the LGBT community," he said. "Who would threaten me on this issue other than the militants? The militants are behind the threats." Homosexual acts are outlawed in Saikot's Muslim-majority country. Defendants can be sentenced to life in prison if found guilty of sodomy, but the law is not seriously enforced, according to a 2016 U.S. State Department country report on human rights in Bangladesh. Saikot said he filed a complaint with the police on Oct. 27 in northern Naogaon district, where he was when he received one of the threats over his phone. In his complaint, a copy of which was obtained by BenarNews, Saikot said the caller cursed him and told him to stop writing blogs perceived as favoring the LGBT community, whose initials stand for "lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender." "Otherwise, you would be sent to the other world to stop the writing completely," the caller said, according to Saikot. Gay activists slain Police said they were trying to track down suspects, but acknowledged the difficulty that investigators faced because they lacked proper technology needed to trace incoming calls. "We have yet to trace the people behind the threats. The numbers used for issuing threats are not local," Himel Roy, an additional superintendent at the Naogaon Police, told BenarNews. He said he would refer the case to the police in Dhaka, the nation's capital. Saikot expressed fears for his safety two days after a U.S.-based group, which monitors freedom of expression, underscored that internet freedom had declined in Bangladesh, citing a recent surge in the number of fatal attacks by religious extremists. Freedom House emphasized that religious extremists claimed responsibility for the April 2016 killing of Xulhaz Mannan, the founder of a magazine that promoted LGBT rights; as well as the spate of deadly machete attacks on secular bloggers, publishers and intellectuals. Police have determined that five to seven men killed Mannan and Mahbub Tonoy on April 25, 2016. But investigators have since made no significant headway and have arrested only one suspect, who was caught days after the attack. Al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS) claimed responsibility for the double-murder, but investigators have blamed a local militant group with AQIS leanings, Ansarullah Bangla Team, for carrying out the killings. Case of the missing professor On Monday, the New York-based PEN America said Bangladesh had failed "to protect independent voices within Bangladesh's intellectual sphere," as it cited the disappearance of Mubashar Hasan, a Dhaka professor and policy analyst known internationally for his work on Islamic extremism. "The disappearance of Dr. Mubashar Hasan is another in a long line of grave threats to scholars and independent thinkers in Bangladesh," Karin Karlekar, a PEN America director, said in a statement. "The authorities must step up efforts to find and free Dr. Hasan from whatever forces are responsible for his disappearance as soon as possible." Hasan was last seen on Nov. 7, 2017 after teaching his class at North South University and while on his way to a meeting at the U.N. office in Dhaka, PEN said in the statement. It said Hasan was a scholar of religion and politics who focused on the rise of Islamic extremism. He is also the founder of the secular website alchonnaa.com, which strives to promote democracy and pluralism within Bangladesh. "Hasan's disappearance is part of larger pattern of free speech violations in Bangladesh by both state and non-state actors," PEN said. "According to local and international groups, extrajudicial executions of political opponents and other critical voices by security forces, particularly the Rapid Action Battalion, remain a serious concern, with dozens of cases reported each year." A senior official of an NGO that promotes LGBT rights in Bangladesh told BenarNews that the militants had been encouraged by the failure of authorities to conclude their investigation into the Mannan and Tonoy killings. "Now, they have targeted the other people supporting the LGBT community. When we go to the police seeking protection, the police do not take our concern seriously. They make objectionable comments about us instead," said the official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. "That is why [LGBT groups] do not feel safe asking for police help," he said.

Acting on a tip-off that Mazhar was travelling on a Dhaka-bound Hanif Paribahan bus from Khulna, law enforcers conducted a search inside the bus on the highway under Noapara Police Station around 11:30pm, Mufti Mahmud Khan, legal and media wing director of Rapid Action Battalion (Rab), told The Daily Star. A check post was set up to conduct searches on the highway in this regard, the Rab official said. Further details on rescuing Mazhar were not made available. Questions like why Mazhar was on the bus still remain unanswered. Earlier, Rab said they were conducting drives in Khulna to rescue Farhad Mazhar as the columnist was traced there this evening hours into he went missing from Dhaka. Mazhar was located in KDA Approach Road area of Khulna with the help of technology, Utpal Roy, company commander of Rab-6, told The Daily Star. "We're conducting drive in Khulna based on mobile-tracking information. We're trying to find him out in the area," Roy said. Mazhar went out of his Adabar house around 5:00am, said Biplob Kumar Sarker, deputy commissioner (Tejgaon division) of Dhaka Metropolitan Police, quoting his wife Farida Akter. According to Farida, half an hour after Mazhar, also a researcher, went out of the house, he called her through his mobile phone and said, "Save me, they have kidnapped me. They will kill me". After receiving a verbal complaint, police visited his house and found a CCTV footage that shows Mazhar leaving the house around 5:07am "in normal gesture", the police official said. A general diary was filed with Adabor Police Station in connection with the incident, DC Biplob said. Farida Akter, in the evening, addressed a press conference demanding to get back her husband safely.

On 11 June 2017, Golam Mujtaba Dhruba reported on an incident which occurred in Manikganj town where a heated altercation took place between the family of a sick child and court employees who refused to move a truck ,rented by Judge Mahbubur in order to move his belongings, that was blocking the road. On 13 June 2017, two days after Golam Mujtaba Dhruba's report was published on bdnews24, Senior Assistant Judge, Mohammad Mahbubur Rahman, filed a case against the journalist under section 57 of the ICT Act with the police in Manikganj Sadar, near Dhaka. According to the Judge, Golam Mujtaba Dhruba had distorted the facts in his story. In the case report, Senior Assistant Judge, Mahbubur Rahman, also claimed that the journalist had manipulated the facts and threatened him over the phone. However, journalists gathered in support of their colleague said that the report was prepared and published in accordance with established journalistic rules and ethics.

Sultana Kamal is a human rights defender and lawyer known for her work on civil and political as well as gender rights. She served as the Executive Director of Ain o Salish Kendra (ASK), a legal aid and human rights organisation in Bangladesh for over 15 years. In addition to that, she is the Chairperson of the We Can End Violence Against Women Alliance, Chairperson for Transparency International Bangladesh and also Co-chairperson for the Chittagong Hill Tracts Commission. On 2 June 2017, Hefazat-e-Islam Dhaka City Committee called for the arrest of Sultana Kamal and threatened her with violence following a TV show in which she participated. Discussing the removal of a sculpture representing Lady Justice from the Supreme Court premises, Sultana Kamal argued with Hefazat-e-Islam representative, Mufti Sakhawat Hossain, that if the group's position was that no religious edifice should be put in the court premises, by the same argument the mosque that is inside the premises should not be there either. After the talk show, Hefazat's Vice-President Junayed Al-Habib claimed Sultana Kamal had called for the removal of all mosques from the country and demanded her arrest within 24 hours. Members of the organisation threatened her with violence and said she would share the same fate as author, Taslima Nasrin, who has been in exile since 1994 due to her human rights advocacy. Dhaka Metropolitan Police Ramna Division and the Detective Branch declared on 5 June they had taken joint measures for providing protection to Sultana Kamal. However, the human rights defender said that the law enforcement agency merely spoke to her and said that they are keeping a close eye on her neighborhood as part of their protection effort.

On 30 March 2017, Mr. Hasibur Rahman Riju, a police informer, filed a complaint at Kushtia Model Police Station against Messrs. Hasan Ali and Aslam Ali. He accused them of publishing an offensive post under the Facebook name "Sultan Eslam' by using the cell phone of a worker at a tea stall at Thana Mor of Kushtia town. Mr. Hasibur Rahman Riju alleged that the post defamed him and violated Section 57(2) of ICT Act. On the same day, police Sub-Inspector Azizur Rahman arrested Messrs. Hasan Ali and Aslam Ali, along with Mr. Moudud Rana, a Kushtia District correspondent for the daily Manab Kantho, without any warrant. The three were briefly detained at the Kushtia Model Police Station. They were released on the same day after dozens of journalists went to the police station to investigate the arrests. Police Sub-Inspector Azizur Rahman subsequently recorded the complaint against Messrs. Hasan Ali and Aslam Ali as a case under Section 57 of the ICT Act with Kushtia Model Police Station, based on a statement taken from a boy who worked at a tea stall close to the police station. On 11 April 2017, Messrs. Hasan Ali and Aslam Ali were granted anticipatory bail for four weeks from a High Division Bench of the Supreme Court, composed of Justice AKM Asaduzzaman and Justice Razik Al Jalil. On 9 May 2017, at the end of the four-week bail period, they appeared before the Court of Chief Judicial Magistrate of Kushtia, which ordered their detention.

On April 19, 2017, members of JKSS held demonstration in front of the Bokakhat Agriculture Office (BAO) and Bokakhat Divisional Forest Officer (DFO). Their demands were - immediate release of State Disaster Relief Fund (SDRF) for the poor peasants who had lost their life and property during the 2016 flood, immediate loan waiver for the farmers, 100% reservation to the locals of Kaziranga National Park in the recruitment of 90 Assam Forest Protection Force (AFPF) personnel from the 5 adjoining districts, immediate compensation and job to the members of the victim family who have lost life due to animal depredation and excesses of forest department, disclosure of the clearance papers of highlands being constructed inside the core zone of Kaziranga. The demands were made by JKSS in a democratic assemblage. On April 21, 2017, during the visit of Hon'ble Forest Minister, Ms. Pramila Rani Brahma, at the DFO Bokakhat, members of JKSS, Takam Mising Porin Kebang (TMPK) and Mising Mimag Kebang (MMK) were gathered there and put forwarded their demands to the Forest Minister in front of the press. The Forest Minister assured the members on 100% reservation for the posts of AFPF to the Kaziranga locales and that the advertisement for these posts would be published again with this criterion. The Bokakhat DFO gave a written assurance to the JKSS, TMPK and MMK members to handover the minutes of this meeting to them on April 24, 2017. Soneswar Narah and Pranab Doley were present in the meeting. Around 2 PM on April 24, 2017, the members of JKSS, TMPK and MMK went to the office of the DFO to collect the resolution of the previous meeting. After much deliberation with the DFO, it was found that except one demand, other demands were not agreed by the ministry. In the meantime, Pranab Doley received a phone call regarding arrest of five innocent boys from the vicinity of Kaziranga National Park by the Bokakhat Police without the knowledge of the family members. He immediately went to the Bokakhat police station and found that family members were denied access to their children. Pranab Doley had some arguments with the police for not allowing the family members to meet with their children; the police dragged Pranab Doley into the lockup of the police station. When Soneswar Narah went to ask about Pranab Doley, he was dragged too to the police lockup. Later on, it was found that Pranab Doley and Soneswar Narah were arrested by the Bokakhat Police based on a complaint given by Mr. Dharanidhar Bora, DFO, Bokakhat on April 19, 2017, alleging that Pranab Doley and Soneswar Narah along with 50- 60 Jeepal members forcefully entered the office premise of the Bokakhat DFO, put their banner and disrupted the functioning of government office and also threaten to burn the office. Bokakhat police had registered the case against Pranab Doley and Soneswar Narah on April 19, 2017. The case number is 82/2017 under sections 147/447/353/506 IPC. The arrest was made without any warrant when Pranab Doley and Soneswar Narah themselves went to the police station to inquiry into another incident about the arrest of the five innocent boys. They were produced to the court of SDJM (M) Bokakhat, where their bail was rejected on the ground of illegally using force with the intention to destabilise the function of the government establishment and threaten the officials of the concerning office. They were sent to Golaghat Jail and continue to remain there. Pranab Doley is a law student and his internal examination is starting from May 5, 2017. It is worth to mention here Pranab Doley and Soneswar Narah were present in the meeting with the Forest Minister on April 21, 2017. Both of them were arrested on April 24, 2017, when they themselves were visiting the police station in another case mentioned above. The police registered the case against them on April 19, 2017. This itself is a clear evidence to show that DFO, Bokakhat and police misused the power to suppress the democratic voice. On April 27, 2017, around 200 protesters of JKSS, TMPK and MMK staged protest in front of the Bokakhat police station demanding immediate release of their leaders Pranab Doley and Soneswar Narah. The protesters gathered in the police station at around 10.30 AM and were ordered by the police to leave the place within five minutes. When the protesters refused to leave the place, police snatched their banner and the traffic inspector Mr. Govind Kakoti started beating up the protesters. Parboti Khaklari, who was one of the protesters, mentioned that the police started beating up the protestors brutally. Women protesters were beaten up by male police personnels. Only one woman police personnel was present when police started lathi charge. Govind kakoti, the traffic Inspector caught hold of one woman protestor from the back and tore her blouse. Three members of JKSS were arrested and later they were released.

On 13 March 2017 at around 7.30 pm, Binay Krishno Mallick was picked up by a dozen policemen from his home in Ghope Nawapara, Jessore town, in the south-western region of Bangladesh. He was then taken to Shibganj Police Station of Norshingdi district, in central Bangladesh, where a forgery case was filed against him. Earlier that day, Binay Krishno Mallick held a press conference at Jessore Press Club during which he alleged that the district superintendent of police, Anisur Rahman, was harassing him and his family members over a movement protesting the removal of homes and business outlets from a piece of land leased from the government. The human rights defender also stated that the police superintendent had delivered to him and his organisation several letters containing false information about him. On 14 March 2017 at around 6 pm, human rights defender Binay Krishno Mallick was released from police custody after being granted bail by the Chief Judicial Magistrate of Norshingdi district.

Abdul Hakim Shimul, a reporter for the Bangladeshi national daily Samakal newspaper, died on February 3, 2017, from gunshot wounds sustained while covering political unrest in the northern Bangladeshi city of Shahjadpur the previous day. He was 42. Violence broke out between rival factions of the ruling Awami League, namely supporters of Halimul Haque Miru, mayor of Shahjadpur, and his opponents from another faction of the party, according to news reports. Witnesses said that Miru opened fire in the confrontation, despite police instructions not to do so, according to media reports. A bullet entered Shimul's skull after piercing one of his eyes, according to news reports. Shimul was first treated at a local clinic, but succumbed to his injuries on the way to a hospital in the capital Dhaka the following day. Police arrested Miru on February 5 on suspicion of being responsible for Shimul's death. Miru admitted to firing his gun, but claimed he fired a shot in the air in response to shots fired by his rivals. Police said only Miru's gun was fired, according to the Bangladeshi news website bdnews24.com. A court on February 6 ordered Miru jailed in connection with Shimul's death, and said it would decide on the question of bail later. Police sought to hold Miru for at least seven days for questioning, according to news reports. According to media reports, Shimul's maternal grandmother, Rokeya Begum, died of a stroke when she heard of his death. The journalist left behind a wife and two young children. His colleagues remembered Shimul as "honest journalist."

The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, a partnership of the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) and FIDH, requests your URGENT intervention in the following situation in Bangladesh. New information: The Observatory has been informed with great concern about further acts of judicial harassment against Messrs. Adilur Rahman Khan and ASM Nasiruddin Elan, respectively Secretary and Director of the human rights non-governmental organisation Odhikar, in a further attempt to sanction and silence their human rights activities. According to the information received, on January 9, 2017, the High Court Division of the Supreme Court of Bangladesh, presided over by Justice M. Enayetur Rahim, dismissed the appeal filed by Messrs. Adilur Rahman Khan, also a member of OMCT General Assembly and FIDH Vice-President, and ASM Nasiruddin Elan, aiming to contest the charges framed against them under Section 57 of the Information and Communication Technology Act (ICT Act) 2006, in relation to a fact-finding report issued by Odhikar on the killing of civilians by security forces in May 2013. The High Court further decided to lift a stay order which the Supreme Court had granted to the two defenders in January 2014, and directed the Cyber Crimes Tribunal to proceed with their prosecution (see background information). On January 10, 2017, the lawyers of the two defenders filed an appeal challenging the High Court's judgement and order dated January 9, 2017 before the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of Bangladesh. In the afternoon, the Chamber Judge of the Appellate Division stayed the High Court's judgment and order for four weeks, in order to give time to both parties to prepare for the case. The Observatory condemns the ongoing judicial harassment of Messrs. Adilur Rahman Khan and Nasiruddin Elan, which seems only to be aimed at sanctioning their legitimate human rights activities, and urges the authorities to put an immediate end to it. Background information: Odhikar has been under extreme pressure since August 2013, when the authorities arrested Mr. Adilur Rahman Khan on trumped up charges in relation to a fact-finding report issued by Odhikar on the killing of civilians by security forces in May 2013. Following this publication, Messrs. Rahman Khan and Elan were arbitrarily detained in 2013 for respectively 62 and 25 days until they were both released on bail. On January 21, 2014, the High Court Division of the Supreme Court granted a stay of the trial in the Cyber Crimes Tribunal. The stay order was subsequently challenged by the Attorney General's Office in the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court. On March 21, 2016, the Appellate Division ordered that the hearing on the stay order was to commence as early as possible before the High Court Division. On January 3 and 4, 2017, a hearing took place in two parts before a High Court Bench comprised of Justice M. Enayetur Rahim and Justice Shahidul Karim. Since 2013, attacks and harassment against Odhikar have been ongoing, including judicial harassment against both Messrs. Adilur Rahman Khan and Nasiruddin Elan, as well as the surveillance and repression of Odhikar, its staff, and their relatives. Odhikar is also facing great difficulties to implement its activities, since its registration has not been renewed by the NGO Affairs Bureau (NGOAB) of the Government of Bangladesh and is still pending though all the required documents were submitted on time. All of its bank accounts have been frozen and it has been forbidden from receiving foreign funding. In addition, on August 2, 2015, the Media and Public Relations wing of the Police Headquarters in Dhaka issued a statement condemning newspaper reports on extrajudicial killings, which cited Odhikar and BAMAK, another NGO, and declared that the statements made by the two organisations "contravene the existing laws of Bangladesh, which is synonymous to challenging Rule of Law and the judicial system". The Police Press Release further stated that questioning the activities of the police threatens the reputation of the police and amounts to defamation and a criminal act, and may be considered as a subversive activity.

A journalist of private Ekushey Television covering ongoing labour unrest along Ashulia of Dhaka was sent to jail on Saturday on charge of inciting apparel workers to raise their demand for a minimum monthly wage of Tk 16,000. The reporter, Nazmul Huda, was arrested on Friday night and was prosecuted under Special Powers Act and Section 57 of the controversial Information and Communication Technology Act. He also works for Bangla daily Bangladesh Protidin, police said. Dhaka's judicial magistrate, Atikul Islam, sent the journalist to jail, pending a hearing on Tuesday. Dhaka police superintendent Shah Mizan Shafiur Rahman claimed that "We have arrested a bad guy.' Police said they arrested Nazmul at Baipail area and seized his laptop, mobile phone and his car. They said the journalist intended to incite the workers by his "inaccurate reportage'. "He is accused of inciting illegal protests, holding secret meetings with seven labour leaders whom we have arrested. He was also trying to destabilise the government,' said the Dhaka police chief. Private television channel ETV and Bangla Daily Bangladesh Protidin Savar correspondent Nazmul's arrest comes after mass protests by thousands of workers, prompting closures of about 100 apparel factories across Ashulia. The workers continued their agitation at the industrial belt, demanding Tk 16,000 as monthly minimum wage. Section 57 of the ICT, which the government had promised to amend in the face of criticism, empowers a court to punish an offender by awarding a maximum of 14 years jail and with Tk one crore in fine. More than 80 such cases were reported since January 2014, according to Odhikar, a rights organisation. At least 27 people including Bangladesh Nationalist Party leaders and labour leaders were arrested in different cases until Saturday. Earlier on Thursday, a leading labour leader, Moshrefa Mishu, was briefly detained.

5 October 2016 Bangladesh - Parliament passes Foreign Donations Regulation Bill to deregister NGOs commenting against authorities On 5 October 2016, the Parliament of Bangladesh passed the Foreign Donations (Voluntary Activities) Regulation Bill 2016. This bill will further restrict the space for human rights NGOs in Bangladesh. According to the bill, any foreign funded NGO which engages in anti-state activities and finances extremism and terror activities, or "making derogatory comments about the Constitution and constitutional institutions" of Bangladesh would be considered as offences. The NGO Affairs Bureau (NGOAB) supervised by the Prime Minister's Office are granted authority to cancel or withhold the legal registration of foreign funded NGO or ban its activities for committing the offence. Foreign funded NGOs are required to register with the NGOAB, submit reports and seek approval for all their activities before receiving the foreign grant. The NGOAB will also be inspecting, monitoring and assessing NGOs' activities and approve the hiring of any foreign specialist or advisers. On 18 May 2016, a parliamentary Committee proposed to introduce a provision in the Foreign Donations Regulations Act, to take actions against NGOs making "insulting or derogatory remarks" on constitutional bodies. The Committee Chair, Suranjit Sengupta, said in a press conference that NGOs must "honour the country's constitutional bodies, including parliament, the attorney general and the judiciary". He also said NGOs should be able to criticise, but not be abusive. If this amendment is approved, NGOs commenting against the authorities may face sanctions or closure. The parliamentary committee only used vague terms in its recommendations and did not clarify which type of remarks can be considered insulting and derogatory. Front Line Defenders is concerned that the Foreign Donations Regulation bill fall short of international standards relating to the right to freedom of association, and that the law will further restrict the space for human rights NGOs in Bangladesh. Front Line Defenders urges the Bangladeshi parliament to repeal the current bill and to refrain from passing it into law.

The founder of Bangladesh's only lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) magazine has been killed in the latest of a series of horrific murders of bloggers and activists. Xulhaz Mannan was one of two people hacked to death in an attack in the capital, Dhaka, police said, by a gang posing as couriers in order to gain access to his apartment in the Kalabagan area of the city. Mohammad Iqbal, the officer in charge of the local police station, confirmed that about six people had entered the apartment building and hacked Mannan and his friend to death in a first-floor flat. Two other people were seriously injured. "A person came with a box identifying himself as courier service personnel. Xulhaz took him upstairs to his flat," Iqbal said. Mannan, 35, was a founding editor of Roopbaan, the country's only magazine for the LGBT community and also worked at the US development agency USAid. The magazine had been launched in 2014 to promote greater acceptance of LGBT communities in Bangladesh. A security guard at Mannan's building said the group had identified themselves as courier company officials when they arrived at around 5pm. "Half an hour later, I heard shouting and shooting sounds from the flat and went to look into the incident," he told the Dhaka Times. "The assailants then attacked me with knives." Police said they had found the box, but did not divulge its contents. Marcia Bernicat, the US ambassador to Bangladesh, condemned the killing. "I am devastated by the brutal murder of Xulhaz Mannan and another young Bangladeshi," she said. "We abhor this senseless act of violence and urge the government of Bangladesh in the strongest terms to apprehend the criminals behind these murders.". The deaths of Mannan and his friend adds to a series of horrific murders of bloggers and academics in the country. It comes two days after Rezaul Karim Siddique, 58, an English professor, was hacked to death with machetes as he walked from his home to a bus station in the north-western city of Rajshahi. Earlier this month, Nazimuddin Samad, 28, an atheist blogger, was murdered near Jagannath University, where he was a law student. Mannan had been behind an annual "rainbow rally" in Dhaka, which since 2014 had been held on 14 April, at the beginning of the Bengali new year. It was cancelled this year on police instruction. A close friend of Mannan's who lives in the US said Mannan had told him on Facebook that after the rally was cancelled four participants were arrested and only released after their families had been informed "that their sons were homosexuals". Homosexual relations are criminalised in Bangladesh and many LGBT activists have been forced into exile. The friend described Mannan as "my elder brother, friend, guardian, mentor". He said the two had known each other since becoming friends through the online LGBT group Boys of Bangladesh, where members would talk about their daily struggles and challenges. "People would make friends there, virtual friendship under pseudo names as no one trusted nobody ... insecurity was high in that group, but he shared a series of photographs on Dhanmondi Lake on a winter morning and posted them under his real name Xulhaz Mannan," he said. "Xulhaz was the first openly gay person I had known. He was out to his close university and school friends, out to his colleagues, and everybody loved him to bits ... he introduced me to a world where straight people did not care what my sexual orientation was." Champa Patel, Amnesty International's south Asia director, said: "There have been four deplorable killings so far this month alone. It is shocking that no one has been held to account for these horrific attacks and that almost no protection has been given to threatened members of civil society. "Bangladeshi authorities have a legal responsibility to protect and respect the right to life. They must urgently focus their energies on protecting those who express their opinions bravely and without violence, and bringing the killers to justice. The authorities must strongly condemn these horrific attacks, something they have failed to do so far." Rashed Zaman, a professor of international relations at the University of Dhaka, said. "This is unacceptable. People may have belief and orientation but at the end of the day everyone has their own individual rights to live the life they want. "I firmly believe in spite of the many difficulties I think our law enforcement are more than capable enough to unearth these cases if they put in effort."

Bangladeshi villagers staged further protests on Tuesday after police opened fire and killed at least four people demonstrating against the planned construction of two large Chinese-financed coal-fired power stations. According to police and eyewitness reports, several thousand villagers gathered in the coastal town of Gandamara near Chittagong on Monday, to protest against the two power plants. These are expected to force the eviction of several thousand people in a fertile coastal farming areas and the demolition of temples and schools. The police admitted killing four people after the villagers' demonstration was banned but the protesters on Tuesday claimed that at least five people had died and four others were missing. Around 100 people, including 11 police, are believed to have been injured in violent clashes. "We've filed cases against around 3,200 people for the violence. We've identified 57 of them but the rest are unnamed," police chief Swapan Kumar told the AFP news agency. Eyewitness Abu Ahmed, who was was shot in the leg, told coal protest group Phulbari solidarity group that the villagers had been holding peaceful protests for several days after S. Alam, the Bangladeshi developer, started buying up land. "The government did not pay attention to the villagers' protests and the district administration remained silent for months. This led the villagers to stage a mass-protest which turned into the worst tragedy in the history of coal killings," said Ahmed. "This is the largest loss of life at an anti-coal protest in Bangladesh since 2006. It is the worst overall loss of life in anti-coal protests worldwide since the killings of six people in Jharkhand, India, at two protests in April 2011," said Ted Nace, editor of Coal Swarm, an open-source encyclopaedia on coal sponsored by the Center for Media and Democracy. The coal plants, which are expected to cost $2.4bn and have a capacity of 1,224MW, are said to be needed to supply the fast-growing industrial city of Chittagong, which experiences regular power cuts. Because Bangladesh has limited coal reserves, the plants are expected to import millions of tonnes a year from Indonesia which is itself experiencing coal protests as farmland and forest is destroyed and communities are evicted. The clashes near Chittagong follow major demonstrations last month against the building of a large coal-fired power station at Rampal, on the edge of the Sundarbans, the world's largest mangrove forest. Government plans to increase power supplies have been thwarted by powerful grassroot groups objecting to the loss of farmland and communities. Plans by a UK coal company to develop one of the biggest coal mines in the world, at Phulbari in the north of the country, have been delayed for eight years following the death of three protesters and 200 injuries at a rally in 2008. The mine would involve the eviction of more than 50 villages. According to the Ministry of Power, only around 60% of people in Bangladesh have access to electricity and demand is growing 7% a year. Two-thirds of its electricity is generated by gas and the country imports around 3.5m tonnes of oil and 2m tonnes of diesel a year. In May 2011, the government said it had plans generate more than 10,000MW of electricity from coal-based power plants by 2021 and 20,000MW by 2030. Nearly half the electricity would be be generated using imported coal.

A leftist students' organisation leader from Rajshahi University (RU) has been arrested for a Facebook status aimed at Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina over her Rampal briefing on Saturday. The university's Chhatra League unit, the ruling party affiliated organisation, also filed a case in the ICT Act against him. Dilip Roy, the general secretary of Biplobi Chhatra Maitri (Revolutionary Students' Unity) was arrested by Motihar police around 12pm Sunday from Aamtala in the campus. RU Chhatra League has also protested in the campus demanding that Dilip be expelled. Around 10am Sunday, the student leader put a public status on his Facebook profile referring to and criticising Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's statement on the Rampal power plant at a press conference on Saturday. Motihar Police Station Officer-in-Charge Humayun Kabir said RU Chhatra League President Rashedul Islam Ranju had filed the case. "We will investigate the matter and take measures accordingly," he said. RU Chhatra League acting president Ranju said he had filed the case against Dilip for his "derogatory remarks" against Bangabandhu, the prime minister and Awami League. Progressive Students' Alliance, a group of leftist students' organisations, took out a procession in the campus after the arrest. Biplobi Chhatra Maitri President Prodip Mardi told the Dhaka Tribune the arrest was a sign of "the government's autocratic nature." "Not all comments will go in favour of the ruling party. Some comments will go against them, but that does not mean he should be locked up and harassed," he said.

(New York) - Bangladeshi authorities should immediately end the illegal detentions of Mir Qasem Ali and Humman Qader Chowdhury, arrested respectively on August 9 and August 4, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch said today. Both men were arrested without warrants or charges, have not been produced before a magistrate, and have not been allowed access to family or lawyers. "There is no question that Qasem Ali and Chowdhury are subject to an enforced disappearance, in the custody of the security forces. Yet the government continues to deny having them. Both men have been refused access to lawyers and their families, and production before a magistrate," said Champa Patel, South Asia Director at Amnesty International. "This is a practice which has unfortunately become completely routine in Bangladesh, and has to end." Chowdhury, a senior member of the opposition Bangladesh National Party, was arrested from inside his car as he was travelling with his mother to a courthouse to attend a hearing around 11 a.m. on August 4. According to his mother, several men in plainclothes - some of whom were armed - forced Chowdhury to leave the car and come with them. Time and time again, we have to call on the government to not give in to its knee-jerk response of arbitrary and secret detentions. The illegal detentions of Chowdhury and Qasem Ali need to end immediately. Brad Adams Asia Director Qasem Ali, a Supreme Court lawyer, was arrested from his home around 11 p.m. on August 9 by several men, also in plainclothes. The men did not identify themselves as being with any security forces. His wife and cousin were present during the arrest. Authorities have denied having either of the men in custody, although multiple credible sources have said that both men were at the headquarters of the Rapid Action Battalion in Dhaka on the morning of August 12. Qasem Ali's wife has filed a general diary complaint, the standard first report of transgressions filed with the police. Chowdhury's family attempted to file a general diary but the police refused to accept it. Qasem Ali's family has subsequently learned, but has not been able to confirm, that he has been moved to the headquarters of the Detective Branch. This is where two other detainees were also held illegally from July 2 until their production in court last week. Chowdhury's family has also been told that he has since been moved from Detective Branch to a different agency, but they have not been able to confirm which one. Bangladesh has been reeling from a spree of seemingly militant inspired killings and attacks, including a horrific attack on the Holey Artisan Bakery Caf_ in Dhaka on July 1, and another the subsequent week on an Eid gathering. In a much-delayed response, Bangladeshi authorities arrested nearly 15,000 people following the spate of attacks on bloggers, atheists, foreigners and LGBTI activists. Following the attack on the caf_, the authorities arrested two hostages, Hasnat Karim and Tahmid Khan, and then proceeded to issue contradictory statements about whether the men were in their custody. More than a month later, they finally admitted the men were in their custody, although they created a false cover story to avoid allegations of illegal detention. Both Chowdhury and Qasem Ali are the sons of two senior opposition politicians convicted of war crimes during Bangladesh's 1971 Independence War. Chowdhury's father, Salahuddin Qader Chowdhury, was executed in November 2015. Qasem Ali's father is currently facing execution on war crimes charges having nearly exhausted his appeals. Qasem Ali had feared that he would be arbitrarily abducted by the authorities shortly after the attack on the caf_ when the government started claiming that the attack was the work of those seeking to free convicted war criminals. "The Bangladeshi authorities have an obligation to pursue those responsible for the heinous crimes which have plagued Bangladesh for years, including of course the horrific attack on the caf_," said Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch. "But time and time again, we have to call on the government to not give in to its knee-jerk response of arbitrary and secret detentions. The illegal detentions of Chowdhury and Qasem Ali need to end immediately." Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch both noted that Bangladeshi security forces have an extensive and well-documented history of custodial abuse, including torture and other ill-treatment. Given this history, there is a real risk of harm during detention and interrogation. Bangladeshi authorities need to immediately end the illegal detention of Mir Qasem Ali and Humman Qader Chowdhury.

Dozens of press freedom groups around the world are calling on Bangladesh to free an elderly British journalist held without charge for over three months. In a joint letter to Bangladesh's justice minister Anisul Huq, 26 groups highlight their "serious concerns" about the ongoing detention and treatment of Shafik Rehman, 81, who is in custody in Dhaka. Signatories include Index on Censorship, the International Federation of Journalists and Reporters Without Borders/RSF. Reprieve, the human rights organisation who coordinated the letter, is concerned that Mr Rehman could be charged with offences that carry a potential death penalty. The calls come ahead of bail proceedings in Mr Rehman's case which are likely to be heard by Bangladesh's Supreme Court later this month (August). Mr Rehman is a professional journalist who has spent a lifetime working for freedom of expression. His arrest represents an attack on press freedoms and forms part of a worrying trend in Bangladesh, where several prominent editors have been arrested in recent years. At the time of his arrest, Mr Rehman was editor of the popular monthly magazine Mouchake Dhil, with experience as a TV host and producer. Previously, he has worked for the BBC and edited Jai Jai Din, a mass-circulation Bengali daily. Mr Rehman was arrested on 16 April 2016 by police who entered his house without a warrant, inexplicably posing as a camera crew. After more than three months in detention, he has still not been charged with any crime. Under international law, the Bangladesh authorities have a duty to promptly inform Mr Rehman of the nature of the case against him and either charge or release him. The delays in this case suggest that there is no evidence against Mr Rehman, and that he should be released. Mr Rehman is an elderly man in poor health. He spent the first weeks of detention in solitary confinement, without a bed. His health deteriorated and he was rushed to hospital. His family are seriously concerned about his health failing in prison, and he has missed important medical appointments. Commenting, Harriet McCulloch, deputy director of Reprieve's death penalty team, said: "Shafik's arrest and ongoing detention without charge has worried journalists all over the world. An elderly British man, he could face charges which carry the death penalty and his health is deteriorating in detention, demonstrating the risks faced by journalists and critical voices in Bangladesh. The justice minister must listen to the international concern around Shafik's treatment. It is time Bangladesh drops this groundless investigation into a senior journalist and releases Shafik."

Bangladeshi authorities should immediately withdraw all criminal charges filed against the editors of the Daily Star and Prothom Alo, the country's leading newspapers, Human Rights Watch said today. Bangladesh should repeal its criminal defamation and sedition laws, which violate international standards. As of the time of writing, the editor of the English-language Daily Star, Mahfuz Anam, faced a total of 54 criminal defamation cases and 15 sedition cases, largely for publishing corruption allegations from military sources several years ago. On February 16, 2016, a court in Narayangunj issued an arrest warrant against Anam in a case filed by a private lawyer. Fifty-five cases have been filed against Matiur Rahman, the editor of Prothom Alo, Bangladesh's highest circulation Bengali-language daily newspaper (and the sister paper of the Daily Star), as well as against the newspaper and some journalists associated with the paper, for criminal defamation and "hurting religious sentiment." Each criminal defamation charge allows for two years' imprisonment, and each sedition charge for three. \t"Criminal charges against editors of the leading newspapers in Bangladesh are a clear attempt to intimidate all media in the country," said Brad Adams, Asia director. "A government controlling almost all seats in parliament and all national executive authority has to be particularly protective of a free press - or risk turning Bangladesh into an authoritarian state." The cases are part of a larger, organized assault on independent media in Bangladesh over several years. Bangladeshi authorities have closed critical media houses, jailed editors, tried bloggers, and charged journalists with contempt of court for reporting unfavorably on government actions. The editor of Amar Desh newspaper, Mahmudur Rahman, has been jailed without trial since 2013 on charges of sedition and unlawful publication of intercepted conversations. The editors of the Daily Star and Prothom Alo were among a significant segment of public opinion backing the "minus two" effort by the military when it effectively took power and installed a caretaker government from 2007 to 2009. The military and segments of Bangladeshi society backed a move to remove Sheikh Hasina, the leader of the Awami League and current prime minister, and Khaleda Zia, the leader of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party and a former prime minister. Both were accused of corruption. The charges against Anam and the Daily Star are related to corruption allegations against Sheikh Hasina and other current government officials based on information provided by the country's military intelligence service, the Director General Forces Intelligence (DGFI). At the time, the DGFI was leading the "minus two" effort and routinely threatened and intimidated the media and civil society. DGFI was also responsible for extrajudicial killings, torture, and disappearances. The allegations were published in 2007, but the current assault against Anam came about as a result of a February 3, 2016 admission on his part that he relied on uncorroborated information from DGFI when he published the stories. Anam said he regretted having published material without sufficient corroboration. The charges against Matiur Rahman of Prothom Alo stem from a series of articles the paper ran on alleged irregularities in the purchase of power tillers by a local government office, as well as for running a cartoon in the paper's political satire section. Rahman surrendered at the Jhalakati jail following an arrest warrant issued in January 2015. He was granted bail and given permission to be physically absent from further hearings in the cases. The cases have not yet been resolved. \tBoth the Daily Star and Prothom Alo have faced government retaliation for their reporting. Media personnel have alleged to Human Rights Watch that this includes a ban on advertising by large private companies in the two papers. Several corporate sources speaking anonymously stated that they had received these instructions in an article published by Al Jazeera in October 2015. "Defamation should not be treated as a crime," Adams said. "If a newspaper intentionally publishes false information that harms an individual's reputation, then a civil defamation case is the proper remedy, so long as a fair and impartial trial can be assured. But Bangladesh should not be in the business of jailing journalists for what they write." Human Rights Watch called for repeal of the sedition law, which is overly broad and vague. The law states that anyone by show or use of force or "any other unconstitutional means" who "subverts or attempts or conspires to subvert the confidence, belief or reliance of the citizens to this constitution or any of its article, his such act shall be sedition and such person shall be guilty of sedition." Anam faces at least 15 sedition charges. Bangladesh's sedition and criminal defamation laws are contrary to the country's international human rights obligations. The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), which Bangladesh ratified in 2000, prohibits restrictions on freedom of expression on national security grounds unless they are provided by law, strictly construed, and necessary and proportionate to address a legitimate threat. Such laws cannot put the right itself in jeopardy. The United Nations Human Rights Committee, which interprets the ICCPR, has said that states parties should move toward abolishing criminal defamation and that no one should ever risk imprisonment for defamation. Human Rights Watch said that laws imposing criminal penalties for peaceful expression are of particular concern because of their chilling effect on free speech. The UN special rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression has stated that with such laws in place, individuals face the constant threat of being arrested and subjected to criminal trials, fines, and imprisonment, as well as the stigma of having a criminal record. The assault on speech affects not only the media, but also critical civil society. Journalists report engaging in self-censorship. Activists and human rights defenders have faced charges, arrest, and intimidation. Bloggers who have expressed atheist sentiments have been killed, yet others have faced charges of insulting religious feelings. A 2014 media policy banned speech that is "anti-state," "ridicules the national ideology," and "is inconsistent with Bangladesh's culture," and would restrict the reporting of "anarchy, rebellion, or violence." The government is currently drafting an onerous and overly broad law on publishing in electronic media. "These criminal charges are clearly a form of retribution against political enemies of the government," said Adams. "And while it is going after journalists, the government has taken no action to hold members of DGFI accountable for the extrajudicial killings, disappearances, and torture that took place during the caretaker period. Bangladesh's sedition and criminal defamation laws need to be repealed, and charges against all media and other critics withdrawn immediately."

A publisher of secular books has been hacked to death and three other people were wounded in two separate attacks at publishing houses in Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh. Both of the publishers involved in the attacks had published works of the US-based blogger and writer Avijit Roy, who was hacked to death on the Dhaka University campus while walking with his wife in February. At least four atheist bloggers have been murdered in the country this year for writing critically about Islamist militancy. The body of Faisal Arefin Deepan of the Jagriti Prokashoni publishing house was found inside his office following the second of the attacks, a senior police officer, Shibly Noman, said. Earlier in the day, Ahmed Rahim Tutul and two writers were shot and stabbed by three men in the office of the Shudhdhoswar publishing house. Police chief Jamal Uddin Meer said the assailants then locked the wounded men inside the office before escaping. "We had to break the lock to recover them," he added. The writers were identified by police as Ranadeep Basu and Tareque Rahim. All three of the victims were taken to hospital, and Tutul was in a critical condition, Mr Meer said. Bangladesh has been shaken by a series of attacks this year for which Islamic extremists have claimed responsibility, including the blogger murders and, more recently, the killing of two foreigners - an Italian aid worker and a Japanese agricultural worker. The attacks come amid fears about radical Islam's rise in the country, with secularist writers seemingly targeted in response to a government crackdown on radical groups. No one immediately took responsibility for the latest attacks. The Islamist group Ansarullah Bangla Team had claimed it had carried out the blogger killings and recently threatened to kill more bloggers. Last month, a bomb attack on thousands of Muslims at the main Shia shrine in Dhaka killed a teenage boy and injured more than 100 other people. Islamic State (IS) claimed responsibility for the attacks on the two foreigners and the bombing, but the government has denied that the extremist Sunni militant group has any presence in the country. Dhaka has instead blamed domestic Islamist militants and Islamist political parties - specifically the opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party and its main ally, Jamaat-e-Islami - for orchestrating the violence. Hundreds of activists held an impromptu march in Dhaka, condemning the government for failing to protect the country's secular writers, with a number of writers already thought to have fled the country or to have gone into hiding after receiving threats. "We're stunned. One after another secular writer and bloggers have been silenced and murdered. Yet the government has failed to protect them," said Imran Sarker, who heads a secular bloggers group.

On September 12, 2015 police entered a house and arrested four activists of a voluntary organisation "Adommo Bangladesh Foundation' that provided shelter to homeless and street children. Police claimed that Arifur Rahman (24), Hasibul Hasan (19), Zakia Sultana (19) and Firoze Alam (21) were arrested under allegations of trafficking 10 children; and were taken into remand. Police also brought children to the police station from a house located at Banashree in the Rampura area of Dhaka. Police filed a case with Rampura Police Station against the four child rights activists. The arrestees claimed that they were working for the rehabilitation of street children with the approval of the government. After taking the children to the police station, they said they were homeless and living at Sadarghat Launch Terminal and Kamalapur Rail Station. They have learned how to write and read their names apart from getting better food and shelter.35 Among the 10 children, a child named Mobarak was handed over to the custody of his family by police and the other children were sent to the correction centre for children and adolescents in Tongi with the permission of the Court. On January 29, 2014 "Adommo Bangladesh Foundation' was registered as a voluntarily organisation. Most of the activists engaged with this organisation are college and university students. "Adommo Bangladesh Foundation' was involved in various welfare activities for the children, including giving them primary education, distribution of warm clothes during winter and entertainment. One of the Board Members of the Organisation and a student of Home Economics College, Ranta Biswas, informed that they had rented a flat at Banashree in December 2014 to make a shelter home for homeless children. 10 children had been staying in that rented flat.

On 22-09-2015 at around 10:23 am, Banglar Manabadhikar Suraksha Mancha (MASUM)'s District Human Rights Monitor of Murshidabad district, Mr. Ajimuddin Sarkar was abducted by 5-7 policemen in civilian cloths. At that time, Mr. Sarkar was at local Seikhpara crossing discussing issues with a few torture victims and their families. Police arrived in a red Tata Sumo, verbally abused and beat him before taking him away. Ajimuddin Sarkar has been intimidated and tortured by police in the past as well. He was charged with false accusations and faced intense custodial torture, for which he was also undergoing a medical treatment. Police tried to silence MASUM and Mr. Sarkar's voice after the widow of Rajib Molla lodged a criminal case against the involved police personnel who killed her husband at Raninagar police station. MASUM and Mr. Sarkar's help was instrumental to lodge this complaint. Till now, Mr. Ajimuddins family and MASUM have not received any information about his detention and/or his appearance before court of law.

At least three people were shot to death in Kalihati upazila of Tangail yesterday afternoon as police opened fire during a clash with locals protesting the brutal assault of a woman and her son. The incident left at least 32 others injured and they include three cops and three bullet-hit locals. Of the dead, Faruk, 20, breathed his last at Kalihati Upazila Health Complex and Kabir, 18, on his way to Tangail Medical College Hospital. Shyamol Chandra Paul, 38, died while being taken to Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH). Two others wounded by gunshots were undergoing treatment at the DMCH and another at a local hospital. Locals say Rafiqul Islam Roma of Saturia village in Ghatail upazila was harbouring a grudge against a teenaged boy of Atharodana village of the same upazila for having an affair with his wife. Roma's family had asked the mother and son to come to his house, saying he just want to talk things out. The two came to Roma's house on Tuesday -- but only to face serious physical abuse and humiliation. They were beaten up by Roma, his brother-in-law Hafiz Uddin and neighbour Kazi. At one stage, the mother and son were stripped and confined to a room. On information from villagers, police rescued the victims and arrested Roma. Hafiz was arrested following a case filed by the woman with Kalihati Police Station the next day. Police say the woman in the case statement also brought the allegation of sexual abuse against the accused -- Roma, Hafiz and Kazi. Protesting the incident, hundreds of people from Atharodana, Hamidpur and several villages started a demonstration around 4:30pm yesterday. Marching in processions, they went to lay siege to Kalihati Police Station around 5:45pm. As they reached College Gate area, police intercepted them and following an altercation, they baton-charged and fired teargas shells. Agitating locals threw brickbats, leaving Sub-Inspector Faruk and constables Liakat and Harun injured. They also blocked Tangail-Mymensingh road at different points for four hours till 8:00pm. Some demonstrators also tried to snatch arms of police, witnesses said, adding at one stage of the fight, law enforcers fired 60-65 rounds. Shahidul Islam, officer-in-charge of Kalihati Police Station, claimed they opened fire when the angry mob attacked them but nobody was killed in the shooting. "They might have been killed while clashing with one another as the protesters were split in groups." olice detained five from the spot. Shahidul said they arrested Roma and Hafiz, still people tried to lay siege to the police station. "It was ill-motivated." Tangail Deputy Commissioner Mahbub Hossain last night told this correspondent that they decided to give Tk 50 thousand to the families of the dead and take responsibility of the treatment of the injured. After a meeting at the police station, he also said they formed two committees to probe yesterday's incident -- one under the police and the other under the district administration.

BANGLADESH: Judicial harassment against free speech defenders continues Paris-Geneva, August 14, 2015 - The three-year prison sentence handed down to Mr. Mahmudur Rahman yesterday morning by a Dhaka Court is yet another example of the abusive use of the judicial system to target free speech defenders, declared the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders. "The assault on freedom of expression is growing in Bangladesh, as any dissent is stifled through judicial harassment, civil society is silenced through increasingly repressive laws, and violent crimes against those who exercise free speech are tacitly permitted", stated Karim Lahidji, FIDH President. "Mahmudur Rahman must be released immediately", he added. Mr. Mahmudur Rahman, acting editor of the Amar Desh newspaper, was sentenced yesterday to three years in prison by a Dhaka Court for charges brought against him in 2010 by the Bangladesh's Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC), which accused him of failing to submit his wealth statement. He intends to appeal the sentencing. Mr. Rahman has been detained since April 11, 2013. The Amar Desh printing press was sealed only hours after his arrest, and has remained closed since. From April 11 to 24, 2013, Mr. Rahman was subjected to torture while held in police custody, and eventually charged with sedition and unlawful publication of a Skype conversation between Md Nizamul Huq, an International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) Judge, and an external consultant(1) on December 9, 2012. The published conversation raised doubts about the impartiality of the ICT and led to the resignation of Judge Huq on December 11, 2012. Prior to his arrest in 2013, Mr. Rahman had already been the target of judicial harassment. In November 2012, he reported to an Observatory fact-finding mission that the Bangladeshi authorities had brought nearly 50 defamation and sedition cases against him since 2008, notably for publishing a report on alleged corruption practices of the Prime Minister and her relatives, and that he was already subjected to torture and ill-treatment while he was arbitrarily detained in relation to these charges(2). "We call on the Bangladeshi judiciary to put an end to any form of harassment and violence, including torture and ill-treatment, against free speech defenders and to strongly reject any evidence that is obtained through torture", said Gerald Staberock, OMCT Secretary General. "We also urge the Bangladeshi authorities to carry out a prompt, impartial and transparent investigation on the above-mentioned allegations of torture and ill-treatment, and ensure that those responsible are held accountable", he concluded. Mr. Rahman's latest conviction is only the last example of the increasing use of intimidation against those who peacefully exercise and defend the right to free speech in Bangladesh. Four bloggers have been brutally murdered since February 2015, with police failing to file charges in any of the cases. In addition, Bangladesh's existing blasphemy laws criminalise peaceful free speech related to religion, and the Foreign Donations (Voluntary Activities) Regulation Act 2014, along with the proposed 2015 Cyber Security Act, serve to stifle free expression and severely restrict the work of civil society(3). The Observatory urges the Bangladeshi government to uphold its obligation under international law to ensure that its people can exercise and defend the right to freedom of expression as well as all other human rights. The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders (OBS) was created in 1997 by FIDH and the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT). The objective of this programme is to intervene to prevent or remedy situations of repression against human rights defenders.

DHAKA: Bangladesh police have launched an investigation into apparent death threats against six secular writers, days after the murder of a fourth blogger in six months. The six, who include poets, bloggers and a journalist, all live in the southern city of Barisal and went to police after their photographs appeared late on Tuesday on a new Facebook page registered under the name Ansar-BD. "There are three anti-Islamic poets and three organisers of bloggers. They are the enemy of Islam. We should do whatever it takes," read the post. Police said they did not know who was behind the threat but were taking it seriously, and the country's elite security force was investigating. "We've increased surveillance and patrols near their homes and workplaces, "Barisal city's police chief said. The apparent hit-list was published less than a week after blogger Niloy Chakrabarti was hacked to death at his home in Dhaka by an unknown attacker. He was the fourth atheist blogger to have been killed since February when Bangladeshi-born US citizen Avijit Roy, a writer and moderator of a blog site, was hacked to death in Dhaka. The Bangladesh branch of Al Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent, Ansar al Islam, claimed the murder of Chakrabarti and warned of more to come, according to monitoring group SITE.

A gang armed with machetes hacked a secular blogger to death at his home in Dhaka Friday, sparking protests in the capital over the fourth such murder in Bangladesh this year. Niloy Chakrabarti, who used the pen-name Niloy Neel, was killed after the gang forced its way into his apartment, according to the Bangladesh Blogger and Activist Network, which was alerted to the attack by a witness. "They entered his room in the fifth floor and shoved his wife aside and then hacked him to death. He was a listed target of the Islamist militants," the network's head, Imran H. Sarker, told AFP. Police confirmed Chakrabarti, 30, had been murdered at his home in the capital's Goran neighbourhood by a group of four people who had pretended they were looking for somewhere to rent. "Two of them then took him to a room and slaughtered him there," deputy police commissioner Muntashirul Islam told AFP, adding that his wife had been "confined to another room" during the attack. Asha Moni, wife of the slain blogger, later told reporters that one of the young men attacked him shouting "Allahu Akbar (God is greatest)". Moni said she pleaded with the assailants not to kill her husband but the attackers dragged her to a veranda and confined her there, according to online newspaper bdnews24.com. The Bangladesh branch of Al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS), Ansar al-Islam, claimed the killing and warned of more to come, according to monitoring group SITE. "If your 'freedom of speech' maintains no limits, then widen your chests for 'freedom of our machetes'," the group, which also claimed to have murdered secular blogger Washiqur Rahman in March, said in posts on Twitter and Facebook. - Bloggers in hiding - Chakrabarti is the fourth secular blogger to be killed in the Muslim-majority nation since February, when Bangladeshi-born US citizen Avijit Roy was hacked to death in Dhaka. Roy's wife was also badly wounded in the attack. The other victims include 27-year-old Rahman who was killed in Dhaka four months ago and Ananta Bijoy Das, who was attacked in May by a group wielding machetes in the northeastern city of Sylhet. In a Facebook post on May 15, Chakrabarti said he had been followed by two young men after protesting over Das's murder, but police refused to register the complaint and instead told him to leave the country. Most secular bloggers have gone into hiding, often using pseudonyms in their posts. And at least seven have fled abroad, according to a Canada-based atheist blogger Farid Ahmed, who helped several of them. Activist groups say they fear Islamist hit squads have lists with the bloggers' real names and addresses. Asif Mohiuddin, another blogger who himself survived an attack in Bangladesh in 2013, described Chakrabarti as an atheist "free thinker" whose posts appeared on several sites. "He was critical against religions and wrote against Islamist, Hindu, Christian and Buddhist fundamentalism," Mohiuddin, who is now based in Berlin, told AFP by phone. Police said Chakrabarti had been one of the organisers of the large-scale protests in 2013 against Islamists convicted of war crimes dating back to the 1971 conflict when Bangladesh seceded from Pakistan. - 'Chilling effect' - Immediately after Chakrabarti's murder, hundreds of secular activists joined a protest march in the city's Shahbagh Square, which was also the venue for the demonstrations two years ago. "We're protesting a culture of impunity in Bangladesh. One after another, bloggers are being killed and yet there is no action to stop these murderers," said protester Sarker of the Bangladesh Blogger and Activist Network. Amnesty International said the government had to do more to stop "this spate of savage killings". "These especially brutal killings are designed to sow fear and to have a chilling effect on free speech," said David Griffiths, the rights group's South Asia research director. "The price for holding opinions and expressing them freely must not be death. The Bangladeshi authorities now have an urgent duty to make clear that no more attacks like this will be tolerated." The US State Department also condemned what it dubbed a "cowardly murder". "We offer our condolences to his family and our support to the Bangladeshi people," said a statement. "This heinous act once again underscores the need to work together to counter violent extremism." Bangladesh banned the hardline Islamist group Ansarullah Bangla Team (ABT) following Das's murder after facing accusations that too little was being done to stop such attacks. In a recent petition to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, authors including Salman Rushdie and Margaret Atwood called on her government "to do all in their power to ensure that the tragic events... are not repeated". Bangladesh is an officially secular country, but more than 90 percent of its 160 million people are Muslim.

A New York-based think tank has relocated controversial Bangladeshi writer Taslima Nasreen to "safety" in the US amid death threats from Islamist radicals, according to a press release. The Center for Inquiry assisted in relocating the award-winning writer and human rights activist to the US last week after she was "specifically named as an imminent target by the same extremists responsible for the murders of Avijit Roy, Washiqur Rahman, and Ananta Bijoy Das", the NGO said on Monday. "The battle between science and religion is perennial. Scientists don't hack people who refuse to believe their theories, but fundamentalists do," Nasreen wrote in a blog post on May 30. "The politics of religious sentiments has taken a violent turn. The solution for this is not to protect religious sentiments. Rather, the opposite. It must be attacked constantly. Even more so than before. This is how people will eventually learn how to deal with it. "Otherwise, the people in the business of religion will destroy what is left of society," she added. "Another freethinker writer-blogger was hacked to death in Bangladesh this morning. Bangladesh is worse than Pakistan," she tweeted following the brutal murder of blogger Ananta Bijoy Das on May 12. But someone with the Twitter identity oneofthemuslims @jihadforkhilafa wrote back: "@taslimanasreen u r also among the 84 who r on the hitlist. count ur days." The tweet was referring to a list submitted to Bangladesh's interior ministry in 2013 by a radical group asking for the writer-bloggers to be punished for their blasphemous comments. The Center for Inquiry said that it "has established an emergency fund to assist freethought activists whose lives are under threat by Islamic radicals linked to Al Qaeda in countries such as Bangladesh". The NGO said that Nasreen has lived in India since 2004, "but even there she has faced persecution and threats". "While it is truly up to the authorities of countries like Bangladesh and others to rein in this threat, we're going to do our part to keep these people safe," said Michael De Dora, CFI's'representative to the UN.

DHAKA, Bangladesh - A blogger who wrote for a website that promoted secularism was hacked to death on Tuesday by a group of four men, a police official said. It was the third fatal attack on a Bangladeshi blogger since February. Four men chased the blogger, Ananta Bijoy Dash, through streets near his home in the northeastern city of Sylhet and attacked him, said Mohammad Rahamat Ullah, a police official in Sylhet. No arrests have been made, Mr. Ullah said. The assailants walked away after the attack, leaving Mr. Dash's body near a pond, Mr. Ullah said. The attack was disturbingly familiar. Mr. Dash had written for Free Mind, a website that the Bangladeshi-American blogger Avijit Roy had moderated before being killed in February by machete-wielding assailants while leaving a book fair in Dhaka, the capital. Five weeks after Mr. Roy's death, another blogger, Oyasiqur Rhaman, was killed by three men with machetes in Dhaka. The deaths recalled the 2013 killing in Dhaka of the blogger Ahmed Rajib Haider. Mr. Haider, Mr. Roy and Mr. Rhaman were all part of a movement known as Shahbag, which called for the death penalty for Islamist political leaders who were implicated in atrocities committed during Bangladesh's 1971 war for independence from Pakistan. Young Islamic activists reacted with fury to the Shahbag movement. Imran Sarker, the head of an organization of secular bloggers in Bangladesh, said that Mr. Dash was also an activist with the Shahbag movement, organizing street protests in Sylhet. According to Free Mind, Mr. Dash had several years ago also edited a magazine called Logic that published essays on secular humanism. His friends described him as an atheist. The killings of the bloggers have hit a nerve in Bangladesh, with its deepening divide between secular thinkers and conservative Muslims over the question of whether Bangladesh should be a secular or an Islamic nation. Ansar al-Islam Bangladesh, a group that claims ties to the Indian branch of Al Qaeda, wrote on Twitter on Tuesday that Al Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent was responsible for the death of Mr. Dash, according to the SITE Intelligence Group, which monitors extremist activity online. The leader of the Indian Qaeda branch had claimed responsibility for the deaths of Mr. Roy and Mr. Haider in a video posted on jihadist forums on May 2. The video was translated by SITE. The police made two arrests in connection with Mr. Rhaman's murder, and arrested just one person over Mr. Roy's murder: Shafiur Rahman Farabi, who had called for Mr. Roy to be killed in a Facebook post. Mr. Farabi is not believed to have been present during the attack. Seven university students and the leader of a hard-line Islamist group were charged with Mr. Haider's killing in March. Mr. Sarker called the state's response to the string of attacks inadequate, noting that few arrests had been made in the recent cases. "This is frustrating, that one by one we are killed and the government is doing nothing," he said. Friends of Mr. Dash said that they had warned him to be careful in his writing. Talal Chowdhury, 32, a childhood friend of Mr. Dash's who had moved to London a decade ago, said that Mr. Dash appeared to have turned to atheism in recent years. "It was kind of new for me when I saw his writing and other people's writing as well in the last five to six years," said Mr. Chowdhury. "In Bangladesh nobody talked about this." Mr. Chowdhury said that he warned his friend in a Facebook post several years ago against provoking religious conservatives, but that Mr. Dash did not appear to take his advice seriously. Another friend who met Mr. Dash during his university days and who declined to give his full name for fear of his safety, said he had also warned the blogger. "I warned him repeatedly to stop his writing to avoid risk," said his friend, who gave his name as Chandra Das. "Ananta used to tell me with disbelief, "Who will come to Sylhet to kill me?'"

Activists are expressing outrage in the wake of the second brutal murder of a blogger in Bangladesh in recent weeks. Monday morning, blogger Oyasiqur Rahman was attacked by three men with large knives in the streets near his Dhaka home. Police arrested two suspects at the scene, identified as students at two separate madrassas - or religious schools. Police are hunting a third man who escaped. Authorities said the two arrestees confessed to killing Rahman because of his religious writings. Rahman, who worked in a travel agency, was not professional journalist, but he did use a variety of pseudonyms to post comments and articles by other writers critical of religious extremism. On Facebook, he used the name Oyasiqur Babu, and he had recently changed his profile picture to the hashtag #Iamavijit, in honor of prominent Bangladeshi-American writer and blogger Avijit Roy, an atheist who, as RePRESSed earlier reported, was killed in a similar attack in late February. police investigation, the UN is concerned that this brutal murder contributes to a reduction in the freedom of expression and opinion in the country," Watkins said in an online statement. The Committee to Protect Journalists is callling on the government of Bangladesh to conduct a thorough and timely investigation into this and other attacks, in order to protect the country's journalists against future attacks. Bangladesh has seen a spate of such attacks in recent years, almost all of them over religious issues. In January 2013, blogger Asif Mohiuddin, who also criticized religious fundamentalism, was stabbed but did not die. In February 2013, blogger Ahmed Rajib Haider was hacked to death by members of an Islamist militant group called the Ansarullah Bengali Team. Later the same year, Islamist groups called for the execution of bloggers they said had committed blasphemy. While arrests were made after those murders, there have been no convictions. UPDATE: 9 April 2015 The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) welcomes a breakthrough in the case of a Bangladeshi blogger who was hacked to death in Dhaka last month with murder charges laid against the four men accused of killing the blogger Md Oyasiqur Rahman Babu. With two of the men still at large, the IFJ has called on the Bangladesh Police to undertake all efforts to locate the men at large - one of whom is touted to be the mastermind behind the brutal slaying on March 30. According to reports, preliminary murder charges have been lodged against Zikrullah and Ariful, who were arrested at the scene while the remaining two at large have been charged in absentia. Oyasiqur died as a result of his injuries after he was set upon by men brandishing at least three machetes as he travelled to work in Bengunbari in central Dhaka.

Alleged physical attacks, arrests and detention of trade union leaders and other human rights defenders. According to the information received, on 28 July 2014, workers began a hunger strike at Hossain Market, Dhaka, over unpaid wages. On 6 August 2014, police entered the Market and prevented human rights defenders from providing medicine and saline to strikers. They then charged at the crowd and physically assaulted Ms. Shabnam Hafiz, Ms. Saydia Gulrukh, Prof. Samina Lutfa Nitra and Mr. Salim Mahmud. Ms. Hafiz was arrested and released the same day. The next day, police forcefully ended the strike, verbally assaulting Ms. Moshefra Mishu before arresting her and Ms. Joly Talukder. Both were released the same day. On 20 August 2014, Ms. Mishu and Ms. Jesmin Jui were detained and released later the same day. Concern is expressed at the physical attacks, arrests and detention. Ms. Mishu was the subject of an earlier communication sent on 17 February 2011, see A/HRC/18/51, case no. BGD 1/2011.

Alleged attack on members of the International Chittagong Hill Tracts Commission in Rangamati district, Chittagong Hill Tracts. According to the information received, on 2 July 2014, the Commission initiated a visit to the Chittagong Hill Tracts region in the context of the clash of 10 June 2014 between personnel of the Border Guard of Bangladesh and local Jumma people. In the subsequent days, members of Bengali settler organizations allegedly took various measures to attempt to prevent the Commission from entering the area. Reportedly, on 5 July 2014, the Commission's minibus was attacked in Rangamati by some 50 members of Bengali settlers' organizations who began to throw rocks and bricks at the vehicle. At least one commissioner was injured in the attack.

On 10 August 2013 Adilur Rahman Khan was arrested at his Gulshan Residence in Dhaka by approximately 10 unidentified men claiming themselves to be from the Detective Branch of Police. On 13 August 2013, Adilur Rahman Khan was sent to Kashimpur Jail-1 by the Chief Metropolitan Magistrates Court by the order of the High Court Division of the Supreme Court of Bangladesh, which on 12 August, ruled that his 5-day remand was violative of the law and judicial precedence. Mr. Khan is reported to have been arrested under Section 57 of the ICT Act and Sections 505 (c) and 505A of the Penal Code, in relation to Odhikar's report accused of publishing false information about violence by Government forces during demonstrations in May by the Islamist movement, Hefazat-e-Islami. The bail petition filed by Mr. Khan's lawyer has been rejected three times, twice by the Cyber Crimes Tribunal in Dhaka on 9 and 25 September 2013, and once by the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Court on 11 August 2013. On 14 August 2013, a Joint Urgent Appeal was sent to Bangladesh by the Chair-Rapporteur of the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention; the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression; the Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association; the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders; and the Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. On 8 October 2013, the High Court Division of the Supreme Court of Bangladesh granted a six-month interim bail to Mr. Adilur Rahman Khan. On 11 October 2013, at 10.30 am, Mr. Khan was released on bail from Kashimpur Jail number 1. UPDATE: On 21 January 2014, the High Court Division of the Supreme Court of Bangladesh, through an Order stayed, for three months, the proceedings in the Cyber Crimes Tribunal against Adilur Rahman Khan and ASM Nasiruddin Elan. On 15 April, the stay was extended for a further period of six months. In the meantime, the Attorney General's Office has prepared a Petition, numbered 165 of 2014, challenging the Stay Order of the High Court Division. This will come up in the Court of the Chamber Judge of the Appellate Division, for hearing at any time in the near future.

On 11 April 2013, Mahmudur Rahman - acting editor of influential pro-opposition "Amar Desh' newspaper, was arrested at his newspaper office. Bangladeshi authorities raided Mr. Mahmudur Rahman's office and took him away. Mr. Rahman was not informed of the reasons for the raid or his subsequent arrest, nor had the Ministry of Home Affairs informed him of any specific charges held against him, as required by law. On April 12, 2013, the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Court remanded Mr. Rahman into police custody for 13 days. At the end of 2012, Mr. Rahman had collected the records of a Skype conversation between former International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) Chairman Justice Md Nizamul Huq and a source located abroad, and had published the transcript of the conversation - in which the judge shared details about the ICT case and asked for advice - thereby raising doubts on the impartiality of the tribunal. Following the eruption of the "Skype scandal" on 9 December 2012, Judge Huq had to resign on 11 December 2012. Charges were brought against Mr. Rahman for sedition and unlawful publication of the conversation between the ICT judge and an external consultant, under sections 56 and 57 of Cyber Crime and ICT Act-2006 and sections 120(b), 124, 124(a), 505(a) and 511 of the Penal Code. This is not the first time Mr. Rahman has been intimidated for peacefully exercising his right to free speech as well as his professional freedom as a journalist in Bangladesh. The latter had previously been arrested, ill-treated and unjustly convicted in relation to his human rights activities Mahmudur Rahman, who served as a deputy minister for energy in the cabinet led by opposition BNP leader Khaleda Zia between 2001 and 2006, bought Amar Desh in 2008. He became its acting editor and made it an opposition mouthpiece. Amid rising political tensions, strikes and deadly protests, the circulation of Amar Desh has increased six-fold in recent months to more than 200,000 daily and it is now one of the most visited Bangladeshi news websites.

Women's rights activists, citizens' groups and journalists in Bangladesh yesterday strongly condemned the assault on ETV journalist Nadia Sharmin by Hefajat-e Islam supporters. Expressing grave concern over the regressive and anti-women stances of the radical Islamist group, they said Hefejat's demands undermine women's rights and the group seems bent on pushing women back into an era of darkness. The Qawmi madrasa-based Islamist organisation, however, denies its involvement in the assault. Addressing a press conference yesterday, its leaders claimed government supporters had infiltrated into the rally venue and staged the attack. But when journalists provided proof of Hefajat men's involvement, the Islamist leaders expressed regret over the incident. Besides Sharmin, three other journalists were attacked while covering Hefajat's programme in Dhaka on Saturday. Meanwhile in Chittagong, three photojournalists were assaulted by pro-hartal (shutdown) pickets at Kazir Dewri yesterday. The injured are Sourav Das of the Prothom Alo daily, SM Tamanna of the Amader Shomoy daily and Golam Ali Mortaza of the Bonik Barta daily. Hefajat men beat up the three near Kazir Dewri intersection when the latter were taking pictures of the procession. Of them, Tamanna was injured critically, said police. According to prothom-alo.com, the attackers hit Tamanna in the head with bricks. The journalist was admitted to Chittagong Medical College Hospital. Eyewitnesses claimed that some of the attackers belonged to the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and the Jamaat-e-Islami group. Protests against journo attack Women's rights activists organised a rally in front of the Jatiya Press Club in Dhaka yesterday in protest at the attack on Sharmin. Speakers there termed the 13-point demand of Hefajat-e Islam "a violation of the constitution". More than 30 organisations including Sammilito Sangskritik Jote, Karmajibi Nari, Bangladesh National Women Lawyers Association (BNWLA) and Bangladesh Garments Women Workers Association expressed solidarity with the rally. BNWLA Executive Director Salma Ali cited article 28 of the Bangladeshi constitution and pointed out how Hefajat demands contradict it. Article 28 of the constitution says, "The state shall not discriminate against any citizen on grounds only of religion, race, caste, sex or place of birth and women shall have equal rights with men in all spheres of the state and of public life." Meanwhile, former vice-president Mahfuza Khanam of Dhaka University Central Students Union called upon the government to clarify its stance regarding Hefajat and their demands. She said, "If you[the government] think siding with Hefajat would win you seats in the next election, then you are wrong." Creating a human chain, students and teachers from Dhaka University's mass communications and journalism department demanded the government immediately arrest those who assaulted Sharmin and other journalists. Prof Geeti Ara Nasreen urged all electronic media outlets to air footage of Hefajat-e Islam's brutality on journalists. Prof AJM Shafiul Alam M Bhuiyan, chairman of television and film studies department, said, "As a Muslim, I feel ashamed watching how Hefajat-e Islam activists assaulted women journalists." Leaders of the Bangladesh Federal Union of Journalists and Dhaka Journalists Union also organised a human chain in front of the Jatiya Press Club. They called for a journalists rally on April 9. Human rights organisation Ain o Salish Kendra has also condemned Hefejat's actions and demands. In a statement yesterday, it said, "We believe Hefajat-e Islam is exploiting religion as part of a conspiracy to carry out anti-women activities and turn the country into a Taliban state."

On 21 November 2010, an unidentified phone caller issued threats to Chief Justice ABM Khairul Haque and his family members, just three days after two Molotov cocktails were hurled on the compound of his official residence in the city on November 18. Ramna police on Sunday recorded a General Diary (GD) in this connection and asked Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission to trace the number of the land phone used in the act and provide its call records. Son of the chief justice received a phone call on Sunday afternoon, read the GD filed by Shiblee Noman, officer-in-charge (OC) of Ramna Police Station. The caller warned him and also asked to inform his father "not to cross the limit, otherwise the chief justice will have to face dire consequences," stated the GD. Ramna OC filed the GD after the chief justice's family members informed him about the threat. Police are yet to detect the callers and the phone number, said Krishnapada Roy, deputy commissioner of Ramna division. Law enforcers are on the hunt for the persons accused in Molotov cocktail-hurling incident, he added. Two Molotov cocktails exploded inside the chief justice's residence around 8:30pm on November 18. Ramna police filed a case implicating four leaders and a son of another leader of the main opposition BNP. The accused are Moazzem Hossain Alal, president of BNP's youth front Jatiyatabadi Jubo Dal; Habib-un-Nobi Khan Sohel, president of the party's volunteers' front Jatiyatabadi Swechchhasebak Dal; Barrister Nasir Uddin Asim, BNP chairperson's human rights affairs secretary; Sultan Salauddin Tuku, president of BNP-backed student organisation Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal; and Akhter Hamid Paban, son of BNP Secretary General Khandakar Delwar Hossain. Police suspect the two incidents are correlated.

On 3 April 2013, Asif Mohiuddin, a prominent secular blogger was arrested by the Detective Branch of the Dhaka police and interrogated about his recent posts. Mohiuddin was arrested for posting "anti-religious" comments on his blog (http://www.somewhereinblog.net/blog/realAsifM), which the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) blocked on 31 March. His arrest follows the creation of a committee on 13 March that is tasked with identifying "blasphemous" bloggers and bringing them to justice. The committee is under the control of the prime minister's office. Police investigators already questioned Mohiuddin about his blog on 23 March. His arrest comes a day after three other bloggers - Subrata Adhikari Shuvo, Mashiur Rahman Biplob and Rasel Parvez ��- were arrested on similar grounds.

On 2 April 2013, three prominent bloggers: Subrata Adhikary Shuvo, Rusell/Russel Parvez and Mashiur Rahman Biplob were arrested for defaming Islam and the prophet Mohammad. The arrests of the three, who were paraded in handcuffs at a press conference Tuesday, came after pressure from Islamists who have organized a march to the capital to demand the death penalty for atheist bloggers. "They have hurt religious feelings of the people by writing against different religions and their prophets and founders including the Prophet Mohammad," deputy commissioner of Dhaka police Molla Nazrul Islam said. The three could face 10 years in jail if convicted under the country's cyber laws, which outlaw "defaming" a religion, Islam said. He denied the arrests were linked to the threats from Islamists whose march to the capital took place on 5 April.

Alleged negative human rights impacts stemming from the order to ban three humanitarian aid organizations from supporting unregistered Rohingya asylum-seekers, refugees and migrants in and around unofficial camps in the Cox"s Bazar district in south-eastern Bangladesh. According to information received, M_decins Sans Fronti��res, Action Contre la Faim and Muslim Aid UK received letters on 2 August 2012 from the NGO Affairs Bureau attached to the Office of the Prime Minister, asking them to cease their operations in the Cox"s Bazar district (except in the two official camps, housing some 30,000 Rohingya, run by the Government and supported by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and other partners). It is alleged that the cessation of the aid organizations" activities will not only seriously infringe on the human rights of the unregistered Rohingya asylum-seekers, refugees and migrants, but also have a significant impact on the large number of local people in the area who regularly access the services provided by the non-governmental organizations.

On 22 November 2012 at around 1am, human rights defender of Odhikar and Kurigram district correspondent of the daily Jugantor, Ahsan Habib Nilu, who is also the General Secretary of Kurigram Press Club; and Sahifuqul Islam Bebu, district correspondent of the daily Inqilab and private satellite TV channel Banglavision, were picked up by police led by NSI Assistant Director, Idris Ali and detained at Kurigram Police Station. The allegations of being involved in anti state activities were brought against them. Ahsan Habib Nilu informed Odhikar that a report on extortion and other irregularities against the NSI Assistant Director, Idris Ali, was published in the daily Jugantor on 27 September 2012. Some days later, the same report was also published in the daily Inqilab. Idris Ali threatened him after this report. He further stated that they were forced to run for half a mile with handcuffs after they were detained. Nilu and his family were also harassed. After their arrest, a three-member investigation team led by Superintendent of Police, Mahbubur Rahman interrogated them the next day in the evening. Assistant Superintendent of Police, Akram Hossain; and Assistant Director of NSI, Idris Ali were also in the investigation team. It had been alleged that they (both the journalists) had posted caricatures mocking the Prime Minister and other ministers on Facebook. Later police took their passwords and checked their email and Facebook accounts. They were released on 22 November 2012 at 10pm after there was no proof of the allegations.

In May 2011, Ms. Shampa Goswami learned of the gang rape of an elderly woman. She allegedly visited the victim in hospital several times and advised her to go to the police, but the victim refused. Some days later, the police eventually came to know about the incident and arrested four men accused of gang rape. In September 2011, a man reportedly made a threatening phone call to Ms. Shampa Goswami, saying that since she works for human rights she should intervene to get the men released. The man also reportedly approached her in person asking her the same. She allegedly expressed that there was nothing she could do and ignored all subsequent phone calls from him. On 23 October 2011, Ms. Shampa Goswami and a close family friend were sitting in a local shop when four unknown men approached and harassed them, making suggestive sexual remarks. Ms. Shampa Goswami reportedly left the shop and was followed by a group of 10-12 men, including the man who had been calling her. The group of men allegedly surrounded her and took her to the roof of a nearby building. Once on the roof, Ms. Shampa Goswami realized that the family friend was also taken there. The man reportedly made the two sit together and began taking pictures of them on a cell phone, whilst verbally insulting them. The men tried to blackmail Ms. Shampa Goswami for money, threatening to send the pictures to the press. It is reported that a stranger who had been passing by came up to the roof and managed to convince the men to let Ms. Shampa Goswami and the family friend go. On 25 October 2011, Ms. Shampa Goswami went to Satkhira Police Station to inform the police, however according to the source, they have so far failed to provide adequate protection to ensure her safety.

Mr. Islam was a well?known labour rights activist in Bangladesh. Being a former garment worker, he advocated for safer factories and for workers to organize themselves. He also had been active in a campaign to raise the workers' minimum wage. Recently, he was working on a campaign to organize workers of a company that manufactures ready?to?wear apparel for US clothing companies. In the days before his death, he had been registering complaints of workers at Shanta Group, a company that produces clothing for Hilfiger, Nike and Ralph Lauren. In March 2012, workers of Shanta Group approached Mr. Islam claiming managers were beating them and sexually harassing female co?workers. In March 2012, BCWS was featured in an ABC News investigation into labour violations in Bangladesh's apparel industry. Mr. Islam helped ABC News to expose the dangerous working conditions at garment factories and also helped arrange interviews for ABC News with survivors of one of the 2011 factory fires that killed 29 workers. After the broadcast, Phillips?Van Heusen Corporation (PVH), owners of Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger, made a public announcement to invest more than $1 million to improve standards in the factories that produce their clothing. 4 April 2012 Mr. Islam came to work around 12:15pm at BCWS in Baipail, near Dhaka. At around 6:30pm, he headed out to the mosque for his prayers. When he left BCWS, he saw a police van parked outside and he became worried about surveillance. He called his colleague, Ms. Laboni Akhter, and suggested that they close the centre. Both of them closed the centre and left through the back entrance. Mr. Islam received a phone call from a worker named Mr. Mustafizur Rahman, requesting his assistance on a personal matter. First he denied but after continued being asked by Mr. Rahman, he agreed to help him and told him to meet each other at Jirani Bazar. Mr. Islam then took a rickshaw and headed towards the Baipail bus stop to take a bus ride to Jirani Bazar to meet with Mr. Rahman. After about 30 or 40 minutes, Ms. Laboni received a call from Mr. Rahman, saying that he was still waiting for Mr. Islam, whose phone was switched off. At around 9:30pm Ms. Laboni received a call from Mr. Islam's wife, Ms. Hosne Ara, asking about her husband because he had not come home and his phone was switched off. Ms. Laboni immediately informed BCWS leaders who called the Ashulia police station to check if Mr. Islam had been arrested. They made several phone calls to the police, but they responded that they had no information about Mr. Islam. 5 April 2012 Ms. Hosne Ara and a senior BCWS organizer went to Ashulia police station to lodge a missing person report. The police initially refused to register the case since it was not yet 24 hours since Mr. Islam had gone missing. BCWS leaders contacted various security agencies including the National Security Intelligence, Rapid Action Battalion, Industrial Police, Special Branch, Detective Branch, as well as several hospitals. The missing person report was accepted and registered as General Diary number?357 the next day at 10:15 am. 5 April 2012 Local police in Ghatail discovered Mr. Islam's body dumped by a roadside outside the Brakhon Sashon Women College, near Tangail?Mymensingh highway, almost 100 km north from Baipail, where he was last seen. The police officials were unable to identify the body, so they photographed and buried it. Mr. Islam's body bore marks of torture, his right leg had injuries under the knee, his toes had been smashed, both knees had coagulated blood, and there were several bruises on the body. There was also a hole in one of his legs made by a sharp object. 6 April 2012 Mr. Islam's body was buried as nobody had come to claim his body. 7 April 2012 Mr. Islam's wife saw a picture of her husband's body in a local newspaper named Amar Desh. After seeing this, she called BCWS leaders. Her family members decided to go to the Ghatail Police Station to ascertain that the found body was Mr. Islam's body. They were joined by Mr. Islam's colleagues at BCWS. The police showed them photographs, and the family positively identified the body as being Mr. Islam. Ghatail police chief Mr. Mahbubul Haq told journalists: "He[Islam] was murdered. His legs had severe torture marks including a hole made by a sharp object. All his toes were broken." 9 April 2012 At the request of his family, Mr. Islam's body was exhumed and moved to a site near his home. His brother, Mr. Rafiqul Islam said he saw apparent torture marks on the body: "We found several marks of wounds from his waist to his foot." Family members of Mr. Islam suspect that the members of the law enforcement agencies kidnapped him, brought him to an unknown location, brutally tortured him and after his death, left his body near Tangail?Mymensingh highway in Ghatail area. BCWS colleague Ms. Kalpona Akter accuses Bangladeshi security forces and garment firm owners of being responsible for Mr. Islam's murder.

Mr. Khan, a prominent human rights defender, works as an advocate in the Supreme Court of Bangladesh and acts as Secretary of Odhikar, a human rights organization based in Dhaka. 14 March 2011 An unknown person came to the main gate of the Odhikar office around 4.30 pm and made inquiries about Mr. Khan's family and the number of children he has to a family employee. 15 March 2011 Around 12.30 pm, Mr. Khan was followed by two persons on a motorcycle bearing the license number Dhaka Metro A-07-5535 from the Supreme Court, where he works as an advocate, to his house, which is located on the ground floor of the Odhikar office. In the afternoon, one of his family employees walked out of the gate around 5 pm to buy tea at a nearby tea stall when he found himself encircled by four unknown persons who requested information about the schedule of Mr. Khan's movements and his whereabouts. Two of them remained stationed all day outside the office of Odhikar, monitoring activities and staff movements. 16 March 2011 At 12.30 pm, a person who identified himself as Mohammad Tota Miah, Deputy Assistant Director (DAD) of the National Security Intelligence (NSI), visited the Odhikar office demanding the accountant to hand over all documents which Odhikar had submitted to the NGO Affairs Bureau. The accountant requested to see his identity card or an authorization letter, which caused the person to leave. Two other men stationed opposite from the Odhikar office, kept on monitoring the activities of Odhikar and its staff. 17 March 2011 Two persons blocked the way of another family employee, interrogating him about Mr. Khan. The employee told them not to ask questions he cannot answer and ducked into a nearby house until they left. This harassment to both Mr. Khan and Odhikar office started one day after Odhikar organized 3rd Annual Human Rights Defenders Conference in Dhaka on 12 and 13 March 2011. Mr. Khan suffered numerous acts of harassment, including monitoring and surveillance, from the NSI in the past because of his work with Odhikar.

On 31 July 2011, police in plainclothes arrested Ekramul Haq, founder and editor of the Bengali-language Sheershanews Web site and Sheersha Kagoj weekly, in his home in the capital, Dhaka. Police told journalists that a businessman had accused the editor of trying to extort 2 million taka (US$26,800) from him for suppressing a negative news report, the reports said. Sheershanews said the arrest was part of a harassment campaign in retaliation for Haq's reporting on government corruption, according to local news reports. The government cancelled media accreditation for the outlets' 10 journalists, including Haq, two weeks ago, according to Agence France-Presse. Government spokesman Harunur Rashid told AFP that the outlets "violated all norms of journalism" and published "character assassinations of ministers and officials." Haq launched Sheershanews as a news Web site two years ago, according to local news reports. His weekly

Dhaka - A group of thugs attacked a Catholic activist who heads an association that defends the rights of indigenous communities. The incident occurred on 22 January in Netrokona, a district in central Bangladesh, some 173 kilometres from the capital Dhaka. Sanjeeb Drong and his wife Mitali Chisim were coming home when eight people attacked them. Only the intervention of the bishop and other worshippers stopped the attack, which appears linked to the centennial celebrations of the local Catholic community. "Our Lady saved my life," Sanjeeb Drong (pictured) said, "but my wife and I have been badly injured. I am scared." Originally from the north, the Catholic activist is the secretary general of the Bangladesh Indigenous Peoples Forum, a national organisation that includes 45 indigenous communities. "A group of seven or eight hoodlums attacked us when we were on our way home after taking part in a meeting in Birishiri, where we discussed preparations for the 100 years of Saint Joseph's Church." Celebrations are planned for 12-14 February. He still remembers vividly the dramatic moments of the attack, the group causing them to fall from their motorcycle, starting to beat them wildly, with sticks and bare hands. "They beat me like a dog, but my wife and I were able to escape, finding refuge in a nearby house," he said. The thugs followed the couple but fled after a group of residents accompanied by the bishop and a local priest got involved. Mgr Paul Ponen Kubi, bishop of Mymensingh, said that he intervened to help the Catholic activist, but did not comment the incident. Fr Simon Hacha, parish priest at Saint Joseph's, said he saw the man "bleeding" and "brought him to the parish church to have his wounds tended." "Worshipers are shocked," the priest said, that such an attack could come right on the eve of the centennial celebrations of the local Catholic community. "We are very much confused," he added, "and fear more attacks during the celebrations. We want security." Sanjeeb Drong has filed charges and police has begun an investigation. However, nothing is known about the attackers. In the meantime, human rights organisations, student activists and Christian leaders have condemned in no uncertain terms the attack and have called for exemplary punishment of the culprits. Above all, they have called for "security ahead of the jubilee of Saint Joseph's Church."

On 25 January 2011, a named individual was arrested on suspicion of participation in the physical assault and robbery of human rights defenders Messrs Shahanur Islam, Shohel Ahmed, and Uzzal Hossain, and is currently being held in remand. The assault and robbery took place on 9 January 2011 while the three aforementioned human rights defenders were carrying out field work in Bania/Jhargaon, Thakurgaon, Bangladesh. Shahanur Islam is General Secretary and Executive Director of the Bangladesh Institute for Human Rights (BIHR); Shohel Ahmed and Uzzal Hossain serve as Fact Finding Officer and Social Worker for the BIHR respectively. Front Line previously issued an Urgent Appeal concerning threats against Shahanur Islam on 9 August 2009. On 9 January 2011, the three human rights defenders had travelled to the Bania/Jhargaon area of Thakurgaon district in order to carry out fact-finding in relation to a human rights violation against a minority woman. Having carried out interviews in this regard, it is reported that the human rights defenders were approached by a group of between 10 and 12 individuals, one of whom identified himself as a member of the local union Parishad, and another of whom claimed to be its Chair. The individuals reportedly questioned the human rights defenders as to the reasons for their presence in the area and, later, levelled various accusations against them including involvement in the murder of a child, trading with a stolen motorbike, and involvement in fraudulent dollar transactions. One of the individuals then reportedly attacked Shahanur Islam, stealing his mobile phone as he attempted to call the local police for help. Other members of the group subsequently attacked Shohel Ahmed and Uzzal Hossain, also stealing their mobile phones. The alleged perpetrators went on to rob the three human rights defenders at gunpoint, stealing items including video cameras, a laptop computer, documents and cash. Shahanur Islam was reportedly again assaulted as he attempted to call for help. Furthermore, it is reported that the human rights defenders were then ordered at gunpoint to pose for photographs with sums of cash in US dollars, and subsequently threatened that they would be killed and the pictures would be released and published in newspapers should they inform the police about the incident. The perpetrators subsequently fled on unregistered motorbikes. The incident was reported to the police who later accompanied the victims back to the scene of the assault and theft, although no perpetrators were identified at the time. However, one suspect has since been arrested in connection with the crime and was brought before the Chief Judicial Magistrate's Court on 26 January 2011, where it was ordered that he be held in remand for two days. Front Line believes that the physical assault and robbery of Shahanur Islam, Shohel Ahmed and Uzzal Hossain are directly related to their peaceful and legitimate work in defence of human rights and constitutes an attempt not only to discourage such work but also to discredit them within the community. Front Line is concerned for the physical and psychological integrity of Shahanur Islam, Shohel Ahmed and Uzzal Hossain.

On 24 May 2011, at 11:00 a.m. approximately, Mr. Barua was walking by the Sayeedabad bus terminal when he was approached by a man wearing dark sunglasses who asked him for directions. Mr. Barua began accompanying this man in order to show him the route about which he inquired. It is reported that as they walked together they passed by a black jeep from which a man disembarked briefly and grabbed Mr. Barua, forcing him into the jeep which then took off at high speed. There were allegedly four men in the jeep, who handcuffed and blindfolded Mr. Barua, covered his head with a black cloth, took his mobile phone and shouted abusive language at him. Mr. Barua reportedly had the hood over his head from the moment of his abduction, throughout the interrogation, until he was eventually released by his abductors. After some time, the jeep arrived at an unknown location and Mr. Barua was forced to get out. He was allegedly taken to a room where his handcuffs were removed and he was ordered to remove all his clothes. Mr. Barua was allegedly left in this room for up to seven hours during which time his requests for water were denied and he was not allowed to use the toilet. It is reported that Mr. Barua was then taken to another room where he was interrogated by up to eight men who demanded that he disclose information concerning his relationship with the Asian Human Rights Commission and the assistance he had provided to Mr. F.M.A. Razzak, in particular they demanded details regarding the representatives of the AHRC who had visited Mr. Razzak in hospital and conducted an investigation into his violent assault. The interrogators also demanded that Mr. Barua provide details about his finances, in particular regarding any money received for his human rights work. It is alleged that the interrogators then threatened to kill Mr. Barua if he continued to maintain contact with representatives with the AHRC, some of whom they specifically named. It is further alleged that several members of the local community who actively assisted representatives from the AHRC in their investigation into the violent assault of Mr. Razzak have also received similar threats. It is finally alleged that Mr. Barua was driven back to where he was initially abducted and released.

On 3 June 2010 without advance notice, the government's NGO Affairs Bureau (NAB) revoked the licence of the Bangladesh Centre for Worker Solidarity (BCWS) to operate as a NGO alleging the group was involved in instigating worker unrest. The BCWS strongly denied the NAB's claims and pointed out it was given no formal opportunity to rebut the allegations. On 16 June 2010, National Security Intelligence Agency officers detained Aminul Islam, one of the leaders of the BCWS when he appeared for a meeting with the director of labor. Islam states he was physically abused and threatened for two days until 18 June, when he escaped from custody while being moved from the facility where he had been detained. On 29 July 2010, after tripartite negotiations with government, workers, and employers, the government raised the monthly minimum wage for garment workers from 1662 taka (US$24) to 3000 taka (US$43). Workers contended the increase was less than needed to meet the rising cost of living for urban workers. As has occurred numerous times in the history of Bangladesh's ready-made garment industry, on 30 and 31 July, angry workers took to the streets. They blocked roads and damaged factory and other property. Security personnel responded with force, injuring scores of the protesting workers. On 30 July, the government accused Islam together with Kalpona Akhter, Babul Akhter of inciting worker unrest during the protests. The group has close ties with representatives of foreign apparel companies, nongovernmental organizations, and international trade union and labor rights groups. The leaders have denied the charges against them.

On 29 April 2011 human rights defender and journalist Mr FMA Razzak was abducted and brutally attacked in Paikgachha, Bangladesh. He remains in a critical condition in hospital in Dhaka following a severe beating and torture. FMA Razzak is the President of the Human Rights Development Centre (HRDC) and editor of the Gonomichhil fortnightly newspaper. The HRDC is based in Paikgachha upazilla (sub-district) under Khulna district. Within his role as President of the HRDC, FMA Razzak works with victims of custodial torture, many of whom are facing fabricated charges brought by the law-enforcement officers who tortured them. Front Line issued an urgent appeal on 7 March 2011 in relation to a series of reported threats, intimidation and attacks against FMA Razzak. On 29 April 2011, at approximately 10.30pm, FMA Razzak was abducted from the Dhaka-bound bus terminal of Paikgachha along with his brother RM Bodiuzzama Bodiar and brother-in-law Mr Bakkar. It is reported that a group of around 20 men, armed with sticks, rods and sharp weapons and led by the brother of a Bangladesh Army Major, approached the three men and attacked them. The attackers pushed FMA Razzak's eyes with their fingers and with rods until they bled. They also pressed his testicles and beat him fracturing his hands and legs. The three men were then loaded into the back of a vehicle. Mr Bakkar was thrown from the vehicle and the two brothers were taken to a field adjacent to the Army Major's house. It is reported that the torture of the men continued there at the hands of up to thirty people. Screwdrivers were pressed into the eyes of FMA Razzak and he was beaten until he lost consciousness. The torturers reportedly suggested handing him over to the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) instead of the police so that they could claim that he had been killed in crossfire. However, members of FMA Razzak's family led the police to the scene of the beatings. Upon their arrival, the police and eyewitnesses found FMA Razzak unconscious and the perpetrators continuing to beat his brother. The police made no arrests but brought the victims to the local public hospital in Paikgachha where FMA Razzak was initially proclaimed dead. Following a re-examination he was found to be alive and was then transferred to the Khulna Medical College Hospital (KMCH). When the ambulance arrived at KMCH the doctors said that they could not treat him, reportedly due to pressure put on them by the Army Major and his colleagues. Another ambulance then took him to the larger Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH). FMA Razzak is currently in a private hospital where he remains in a critical condition. On 2 May he underwent an operation on the three major fractures on his leg. However, it is reported that as of yet he cannot see properly and it is feared that he may not be receiving the specialised medical treatment that he requires. The family of the aforementioned Army Major have been involved in a disagreement with FMA Razzak's family relating to an illegitimate land ownership claim. Whilst it is clear that there is a personal dispute between the two families, and despite a legal decision in favour of FMA Razzak's family, it has been reported that threats include that FMA Razzak will be killed in "crossfire", and family members have reported being harassed by members of the police. Previously in 2004 the local police misdirected the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) of the Khulna region to arrest FMA Razzak on falsified criminal accusations. National and international human rights organisations lobbied against the arrest and following investigations into the complaint by senior members of the RAB, FMA Razzak was found to be innocent and subsequently released without charge. In November 2008, he was falsely accused in an abduction case and was again detained without an arrest warrant and reportedly ill-treated in detention, before again being released without charge. The attacks on FMA Razzak and his family members seem to be directly related to his peaceful and legitimate work in defence of human rights, in particular his work with victims of custodial torture. Front Line is concerned for the physical and psychological integrity of FMA Razzak and his family members.

Dhaka, Bangladesh (CNN) -- Micro-credit pioneer and Nobel Peace Prize winner Muhammad Yunus appeared in a Bangladesh court Tuesday on a defamation charge for reportedly criticizing politicians four years ago, court officials said. The state prosecutor for Mymensingh district court, Wazedul Islam, confirmed Yunus' appearance, saying he "appeared in a defamation suit filed in January 2007." After a 15-minute hearing at the court in Mymensingh district, about 120 km away from the capital of Dhaka, Magistrate Rozina Khan granted Yunus a 5,000-taka (about $70 U.S.) bail and exempted the Nobel laureate's personal appearance in court for the hearing next month, a court official said. Instead, Yunus will be represented by his lawyer. Widely known as the "banker to the poor," Yunus founded Grameen Bank in 1983 to help the poor obtain small loans on favorable terms. He and the bank jointly received the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize "for their efforts to create economic and social development from below," according to the Nobel Institute's website. Yunus has recently faced criticism at home and abroad after a Norwegian television network aired a documentary in November that accused him of an unauthorised aid fund transfer 15 years ago. The Norwegian government last month cleared him of any wrongdoing, but the Bangladesh government announced a probe last week of Grameen's activities. The investigation was launched after Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina accused Yunus of playing a "trick" to evade taxes, and charged last month that micro-lenders suck "blood from the poor in the name of poverty alleviation." The current defamation charges against Yunus stem from comments he made in an interview with French news agency AFP four years ago, in which he reportedly criticized politicians and said they were only in "power to make money." The remarks came shortly after a military-backed interim government took over amid deadly political violence in Bangladesh. A leftist politician in Mymensingh filed the defamation case on January 21, 2007, with a local magistrate court after Yunus' interview was published in local media. The court last month asked Yunus to appear after a judicial probe found enough evidence to support the allegations, court inspector Md. Shahid Sukrana told CNN. Nazrul Islam Chunnu, who filed the case, is a politician and district joint general secretary of the socialist party JSD. He charged that Yunus branded politicians as "corrupt and greedy" and said the politicians were "devoid of ideologies." If Yunus is convicted of the charges, he faces a maximum two years in prison and/or a fine, said a court official.