Exiled Bangladeshi journalist Kanak Sarwar says sister’s detention won’t silence him
Exiled Bangladeshi journalist Kanak Sarwar says sister’s detention won’t silence him By Sonali Dhawan/CPJ Asia Researcher For years, exiled Bangladeshi journalist Kanak Sarwar advised his family members not to keep public profiles on Facebook, fearing his critical reporting would lead to harassment by supporters of the Awami League-led government. So he was alarmed when his […]
Bangladesh’s democracy erodes amid tilt to China
25 January 2022Author: Ali Riaz, Illinois State University Bangladesh remained firmly under the grip of the incumbent Bangladesh Awami League in 2021. The ruling party faced no formidable opposition, the country celebrated its 50th year of independence and the COVID-19 pandemic was less devastating than was predicted. Bangladesh Awami League (political party in Bangladesh) held […]
Human Rights Sanctions On Bangladesh —A Prediction Or A Warning?
Human Rights Sanctions On Bangladesh —A Prediction Or A Warning? For the US, the question is how to be aggressive enough to keep some democratic alleys open for the future. William B Milam Curtesy: FridayTimes As far as I could tell, most Bangladeshi leaders were not particularly upset that their country did not get invited […]
UN: Ban Abusive Bangladesh Unit from Peacekeeping
Role of Rapid Action Battalion Should Be Reviewed Following US Sanctions, HRW Reports (New York, Jan 21, 2022) – The United Nations Department of Peace Operations should ban Bangladesh’s notoriously abusive paramilitary Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) from UN deployment, 12 organizations said in a letter to Under-Secretary-General Jean-Pierre Lacroix, made public today. Human rights organizations […]
Gang close to Bangladesh PM extracts bribes for state contracts
By Al Jazeera Investigative UnitPublished On 1 Feb 2021 A criminal gang is colluding with Bangladesh’s security forces to extract bribes for state contracts and job positions, all the while maintaining powerful links with the country’s Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, an Al Jazeera investigation has found. All the Prime Minister’s Men reveals how Haris and […]
Bangladesh’s Awami League-led government doubled down on an authoritarian crackdown: HRW
Bangladesh’s Awami League-led government doubled down on an authoritarian crackdown on free speech, arresting critics, and censoring media. Arrests under the abusive Digital Security Act (DSA) increased dramatically. Impunity for abuses by security forces, including enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings, remained pervasive. Host to nearly 1 million Rohingya refugees from neighboring Myanmar, Bangladesh kept its […]
The U.S. Has a Police Brutality Problem. So Does Bangladesh.
Dhaka’s denial of extrajudicial killings is imperiling its relations with Washington and exposing the country’s corrupt police and undemocratic institutions. Nazmul Ahasan, a Bangladeshi journalist currently with the Investigative Reporting Program at the University of California, Berkeley. Curtesy: FP At midnight on May 26, 2018, Ekramul Haque’s daughters were trying to reach their father, who […]
How Bangladesh’s Digital Security Act Is Creating a Culture of Fear
Dhaka’s abstention in Ukraine vote is an anomaly The Bangladeshi government has used a vaguely worded law on digital security to crack down on its critics and dispel online dissent. Author and social activist Mushtaq Ahmed died in a Bangladeshi jail on February 25, 2021, after being detained and allegedly tortured for social media posts critical of the government. […]
US Treasury Sanctions Perpetrators of Serious Human Rights Abuse
US Treasury Sanctions Perpetrators of Serious Human Rights Abuse WASHINGTON — Today (December 10, 2021), on International Human Rights Day, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) is designating 15 individuals and 10 entities for their connection to human rights abuse and repression in several countries around the globe, pursuant […]
US Treasury Sanctions Perpetrators of Serious Human Rights Abuse on International Human Rights Day
US Treasury Sanctions Perpetrators of Serious Human Rights Abuse on International Human Rights Day Designations target those connected to human rights abuse, including technology-enabled abuse WASHINGTON — Today, on International Human Rights Day, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) is designating 15 individuals and 10 entities for their connection […]