R2F Panel Discussion on Challenges of Democracy in Bangladesh
Regional politics, looming economic challenges and Biden Administration human rights policy put pressure on Awami League in run-up to national elections Panelists at a recent discussion titled ‘Challenges of Democracy in Bangladesh’ organized by Washington-based rights organization Right to Freedom, (R2F) highlighted the increasing pressure on the Awami League government ahead of national elections in […]
R2F panel discussion on Dissent Criminalized: The State of Freedom of Speech in Bangladesh.
R2F panel discussion on Dissent Criminalized: The State of Freedom of Speech in Bangladesh. DSA is a government tool used to silence journalists in Bangladesh The human rights organization, Right to Freedom (R2F) in association with the South Asia Perspectives organized a panel discussion on December 05 at the National Press Club, Washington, titled “Dissent […]
Whereabouts unknown: Bangladesh’s 86 disappeared men
Whereabouts unknown: Bangladesh’s 86 disappeared men Half of disappearances involve opposition-linked men, with sanctioned Rapid Action Battalion identified as responsible for over third of pick-ups. Netra News February 3, 2022 Half of the 86 disappeared men, originally picked up over the last 12 years by Bangladeshi law enforcement authorities, whose cases have now been taken […]
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 […]
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 […]
Democratic backsliding and the information battle
Democratic backsliding and the information battle Continued backsliding of democracy for more than a decade, globally and domestically, has raised the question—where are we heading? The question, for some, is an innocuous query, while for others it is the first step towards devising a strategy to halt the downward spiral. The democratic backsliding, which began […]
‘Our Democracy Is In Danger’: Muslims In India Say Police Target Them With Violence
‘Our Democracy Is In Danger’: Muslims In India Say Police Target Them With Violence When Aysha Renna decided last month to demonstrate against India’s new citizenship law on her college campus in New Delhi, it never occurred to her that doing so might be dangerous. Across India, students at other universities were organizing similar rallies […]
Bangladesh And Its Continued Defamation Of Grameen Bank
Bangladesh And Its Continued Defamation Of Grameen Bank “Jealousy is both reasonable and belongs to reasonable men, while envy is base and belongs to the base, for the one makes himself get good things by jealousy, while the other does not allow his neighbor to have them through envy.” ~Aristotle He is perhaps the most […]
‘I’VE NEVER BEEN THAT INTERESTED IN ART FOR ART’S SAKE
‘I’VE NEVER BEEN THAT INTERESTED IN ART FOR ART’S SAKE Last year, Bangladeshi photographer Shahidul Alam was jailed and tortured for denouncing his country’s regime. Now his work, which reveals people’s suffering without compromising their dignity, has been shortlisted for the Prix Pictet 2019. Interview by Rachel Spence. Portrait by Sarker Protick. The three photographs […]