Investigation
CPJ seeks impartial investigation into assaults on journalists covering recent political rallies
Bangladesh authorities must immediately and impartially investigate the assaults on at least 27 journalists covering recent political rallies and hold the perpetrators accountable, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has said.
On October 28, at least 27 journalists covering rallies in Dhaka were attacked.
CPJ spoke to journalists who accused BNP supporters of attacking the journalists.
Md Rafsan Jani, a crime reporter for the daily Kalbela newspaper, told CPJ that he was filming BNP supporters assaulting police officers when two demonstrators approached him and took his phone and identification card.
A group of BNP supporters then surrounded Jani and beat him with iron rods, sticks, and pipes as he repeatedly identified himself as a journalist, he said, adding that he managed to escape after around 20 minutes.
CPJ, rights groups call for stopping ‘harassment’ of journalist Rozina
As of November 1, his items had not been returned.
The CPJ also took note of The Daily Star report that claimed Awami League demonstrators beat the daily Kalbela reporter Abu Saleh Musa while covering their rally.
“The attacks on at least 27 Bangladeshi journalists covering recent political rallies in Dhaka must see swift and transparent accountability,” said CPJ Program Director Carlos Martínez de la Serna.
“The leadership and supporters of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party and the Awami League, as well as police, must respect the rights of journalists to freely and safely report on the lead-up to the upcoming election scheduled for January,” he said.
SA Masum, a photographer for the daily Inqilab newspaper, told CPJ that he was taking photos of a confrontation between Awami League and BNP supporters when his head was repeatedly struck from behind with what he suspected to be a bamboo stick, knocking him unconscious while the attackers, whom he did not identify, continued to beat him.
Bystanders at the scene rescued Masum and took him to the hospital, where he was treated for a concussion and severe bruising and open lesions throughout his body, according to the journalist, who shared photos of his injuries with CPJ.
Md Sirajum Salekin, a crime reporter for the Dhaka Times, told CPJ that he was on his motorcycle on the way to cover clashes at the chief justice’s residence when a vehicle hit his motorcycle from behind, causing him to fall and break two bones in his right leg.
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Salekin said he believed he was targeted because he was wearing his press badge and his motorcycle was marked with a sticker of the Dhaka Times.
Mohammad Ali Mazed, a video reporter for the French news agency Agence France-Presse, told CPJ that he was covering a clash between police and BNP demonstrators while holding a camera and press identification when five to six demonstrators surrounded him.
The demonstrators damaged Mazed’s camera and other news equipment and beat him on his head, back, and right shoulder with bamboo sticks for around three minutes until the journalist fled the scene with the assistance of bystanders, he said.
CPJ names Shahidul Alam among four for Int’l Press Freedom Awards 2020
Sazzad Hossain, a freelance photographer working with Bangla Tribune and international outlets, including the British newspaper The Guardian and photo agency SOPA Images, told CPJ that BNP protesters threw broken bricks at him and trampled him while he was covering a clash with police.
Salahuddin Ahmed Shamim, a freelance photographer reporting for the news agency Fair News Service, told CPJ that he was covering BNP protesters assaulting police officers when seven to eight of the party’s supporters surrounded him, beat him in the back with bamboo sticks, and kicked him for around 15 minutes.
Two journalists who spoke to CPJ — Sheikh Hasan Ali, chief photojournalist for Kaler Kantho newspaper, and Ahammad Foyez, senior correspondent for New Age newspaper — said they were struck with rubber bullets when police attempted to disperse BNP protesters, leaving them with minor injuries.
Ali told CPJ that an unidentified man hit the Kaler Kantho photographer Lutfor Rahman with a bamboo stick on his right shoulder while covering the same clashes.
Md Hanif Rahman, a photographer for Ekushey TV, told CPJ that he and Ekushey TV reporter Touhidur Rahman were covering an arson attack on a police checkpoint when they were surrounded by a group of 10 to 12 men who beat him with pipes and sticks and pushed Touhidur.
Rabiul Islam Rubel, a reporter for the daily Kalbela, told CPJ that he was among a crowd of BNP supporters while covering the clashes at the chief justice’s residence when 15 to 20 men threw bricks at him while shouting that journalists are “government brokers.”
Jony Rayhan, a reporter for the daily Kalbela, told CPJ that BNP supporters beat him while covering their rally. Rayhan was also injured by a sound grenade that landed in front of him while police were trying to disperse the demonstrators, he said.
Salman Tareque Sakil, chief reporter for Bangla Tribune, told CPJ that he sustained a leg fracture after a brick was thrown at him while covering the BNP rally.
Jubair Ahmed, a Bangla Tribune reporter, told CPJ that while police were dispersing BNP demonstrators, a tear gas shell landed in front of him, blurring his vision before the protesters trampled him while fleeing the scene.
Tahir Zaman, a reporter for the news website The Report, was also injured by a rubber bullet while covering clashes at the BNP rally, CPJ said.
Read more: Day 3 of blockade: 4 vehicles burnt in Dhaka, Narayanganj so far
Jasmine's death in RAB custody: Key info missing in report, says HC
The High Court today (October 15, 2023) expressed dissatisfaction over the probe report submitted by the high-level investigation committee on the death of Union land office employee Sultana Jasmine in RAB custody in Naogaon.
"The report is unclear," the High Court said. “It did not include anything regarding the process of detaining Sultana Jasmine. The report also failed to say whether her relatives were informed after her (Jasmine) detention. Therefore, the court is not satisfied with the report.”
Also read: HC grants 2 more months for probe into Jasmine’s death in RAB Custody
The HC bench of Justice Farah Mahbub and Justice Muhammad Mahbub-ul-Islam made the remarks on Sunday.
Later, the High Court bench directed the preparation of the rule for the upcoming hearing on this matter. The court scheduled the hearing for the rule for November 29.
Advocate Manoj Kumar Bhowmick appeared for the writ petitioner in the court. Deputy Attorney General Samarendra Nath Biswas, Assistant Attorney General Abul Kalam Khan Dawood and Assistant Attorney General Taufiq Sajwar Partha were present on behalf of the state.
Also read: Death in Custody: RAB quizzes Jasmine's son and brother-in-law
Advocate Manoj Kumar Bhowmick said the High Court was dissatisfied over the probe report as some key information was missing from the report.
Earlier on May 22, the Cabinet Division formed a high-level investigation committee to investigate the death of land office employee Sultana Jasmine in RAB custody in Naogaon based on the High Court’s directive.
The High Court ordered the committee to complete the investigation and submit its report within 60 days.
On August 14, the committee submitted a 302-page report to the High Court.
Also read: Sultana Jasmine died from brain hemorrhage: postmortem report
Union land office employee Sultana was detained by RAB from Muktirmor area of Naogaon city on March 22. She was admitted to Naogaon hospital the same day after she fell ill and later died at Rajshahi Medical College Hospital on March 24.
According to the postmortem report submitted by the Forensic Department of Rajshahi Medical College Hospital, Sultana Jasmine died from brain haemorrhage.
Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) said Jasmine was arrested for interrogation as there was an accusation of fraudulence against her.
Also read: Calls grow for judicial investigation of Jasmine's death in custody
Report on FBI’s Trump-Russia investigation: Some problems but not the ‘crime of the century’
An investigation into the origins of the FBI's probe into ties between Russia and Donald Trump's 2016 presidential campaign has finally been concluded, with the prosecutor leading the inquiry submitting a much-awaited report that found major flaws.
The report, the culmination of a four-year investigation into possible misconduct by U.S. government officials, contained withering criticism of the FBI but few significant revelations. Nonetheless, it will give fodder to Trump supporters who have long denounced the Russia investigation, as well as Trump opponents who say the Durham team's meager court record shows their probe was a politically motivated farce.
Also Read: Jury finds Trump liable for sexual abuse, awards accuser $5M
A look at the investigation and the report:
WHO IS JOHN DURHAM?
Durham has spent decades as a Justice Department prosecutor, with past assignments including investigations into the FBI's cozy relationship with mobsters in Boston and the CIA's destruction of videotapes of its harsh interrogations of terrorism subjects.
He was appointed in 2019 to investigate potential misconduct by U.S. government officials as they examined Russian election interference in 2016 and whether there was any illegal coordination between the Kremlin and Trump's presidential campaign.
Despite skimpy results — one guilty plea and two acquittals — that failed to live up to Trump's expectations, Durham was able to continue his work well into the Biden administration, thanks in part to William Barr appointing Durham as a Justice Department special counsel shortly before Barr's 2020 resignation as attorney general.
WHY DID THE TRUMP JUSTICE DEPARTMENT THINK SUCH AN APPOINTMENT WAS NECESSARY?
The appointment came weeks after a different special counsel, Robert Mueller, wrapped up his investigation of possible connections between Russia and the Trump campaign. That probe produced more than two dozen criminal cases, including against a half-dozen Trump associates.
Though it did not charge any Trump aide with working with Russia to tip the election, it did find that Russia interfered on Trump's behalf and that the campaign welcomed, rather than discouraged, the help.
From the start, Barr was deeply skeptical of the investigation's foundation, telling Congress that “spying did occur” on the campaign.
He enlisted an outside prosecutor to hunt for potential misconduct at the government agencies who were involved in collecting intelligence and conducting the investigation, even flying with Durham to Italy to meet with officials there as part of the probe.
WERE THERE PROBLEMS WITH THE RUSSIA INVESTIGATION?
Yes, and a Justice Department inspector general inquiry already identified many.
The watchdog report found that FBI applications for warrants to eavesdrop on a former Trump campaign aide, Carter Page, contained significant errors and omitted information that would likely have weakened or undermined the premise of the application.
The cumulative effect of those errors, the report said, was to make it “appear that the information supporting probable cause was stronger than was actually the case.”
Still, the inspector general did not find evidence that investigators acted with political bias and said there was a legitimate basis to open a full investigation into potential collusion, though Durham has disagreed.
WHAT CRIMINAL CASES DID HE BRING AND WHAT WAS THE OUTCOME?
Durham brought three prosecution during his tenure, but only one resulted in a conviction — and that was for a case referred to him by the Justice Department inspector general. None of the three undid core findings by Mueller that Russia had interfered with the 2016 election in sweeping fashion.
A former FBI lawyer, Kevin Clinesmith, pleaded guilty in 2020 to altering an email related to the surveillance of ex-Trump campaign aide. He was given probation.
But two other cases, both involving alleged false statements to the FBI, resulted in acquittals by jury.
Michael Sussmann, a lawyer for the Hillary Clinton campaign, was found not guilty of lying to the FBI during a meeting in which he presented computer data information that he wanted the FBI to investigate. A different jury acquitted Igor Danchenko, a Russian-American analyst, of charges that he lied to the FBI about his role in the creation of a discredited dossier about Trump.
WHAT SPECIFICALLY DID DURHAM FIND?
Durham found that the FBI acted too hastily and relied on raw and unconfirmed intelligence when it opened the Trump-Russia investigation.
He said at the time the probe was opened, the FBI had no information about any actual contact between Trump associates and Russian intelligence officials.
He also claimed that FBI investigators fell prone to “confirmation bias,” repeatedly ignoring or rationalizing away information that could have undercut the premise of their investigation, and he noted that the FBI failed to corroborate a single substantive allegation from a dossier of research that it relied on during the course of the probe.
“An objective and honest assessment of these strands of information should have caused the FBI to question not only the predication for Crossfire Hurricane, but also to reflect on whether the FBI was being manipulated for political or other purposes,” the report said, using the FBI's code name for the Trump-Russia probe. “Unfortunately, it did not.”
HOW DID THE FBI RESPOND?
The FBI pointed out that it had long ago made dozens of corrective actions. Had those measures been in place in 2016, it says, the errors at the center of the report could have been prevented.
It also took pains to note that the conduct in the report took place before the current director, Christopher Wray, took the job in fall 2017.
WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?
It didn't take long for Republicans in Congress to react. Rep. Jim Jordan, who chairs the House Judiciary Committee, said he had invited Durham to testify on Capitol Hill next week. Trump, too, sought to seize on the report, claiming anew in a post on his Truth Social platform that the Durham report had found “the crime of the century” and calling the Russia investigation the “Democrat Hoax.”
Though the FBI says it's already taken some steps to address the problems cited in the report, Durham did say it's possible more reform could be needed. One idea, he said, would be to provide additional scrutiny of politically sensitive investigations by identifying an official who would be responsible for challenging the steps taken in a probe.
He said his team had considered but did not ultimately recommend steps that would curtail the FBI's investigative authorities, including its use of tools under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act to eavesdrop on suspected spies or terrorists.
Investigate if BNP-Jamaat are behind recent fire incidents to cripple economy: PM Hasina asks authorities
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Saturday asked the authorities concerned to investigate whether opposition BNP and Jamaat, who had unleashed a campaign of terror and arson attacks during 2013-14, are involved in the recent fire incidents in the country.
“It should be investigated whether they (BNP-Jamaat) are taking a different path by causing incidents like fire and cripple the economy,” she said.
The prime minister said this while speaking at the Awami League Local Government Nomination Board meeting held at her official residence Ganabhaban.
Her call came even as another massive fire broke out in Dhaka's New Super Market gutting scores of shops early Saturday.
Also read: Intelligence agencies urged to probe if sabotage is behind frequent fire incidents: Fire Service DG
Hasina, also the president of Awami League, asked to investigate whether the fire incidents in various markets were conspiracy or sabotage to hurt the economy.
She asked to increase surveillance in important markets across the country.
“Everyone should be more aware. Everyone has to make arrangements on their own initiative to guard (their establishments). All efforts by the government will continue,” she said.
She also said that unwanted crowds must not be allowed to gather during the fire fighters' battle to control the blaze and strict action will be taken in case of any obstruction regarding this matter.
The PM said that when the first fire incident occurred it was thought to be an accident.
“But after the couple of other fire incidents at the same time of the first one… the fire incidents are taking place after 6am. Surveillance should be increased and other markets have to remain alert,” she said.
She also mentioned that it has been noticed that when the fire service comes they face obstacles by some people.
“Why will they face obstacles and while they tried to douse the fire some people with sticks and blunt instruments attacked the fire fighters. Who are these people?, " she wondered.
She said that a careful study of the four recent fire incidents at shopping malls in the city suggests these have been either planned or manipulated.
“We know that some political parties are there to wage movement after Eid, cripple the economy and oust the government. Yes, you can oust the government, but what are the faults of these common people and businessmen,” she asked.
She said that businesspeople have been the worst sufferers as fire incidents hit them at a time when they looked for brisk business.
“This will not be spared easily, and we have increased our surveillance in this matter,” she said.
She also urged the people to remain alert.
Recalling the arson terrorism by the BNP-Jamaat clique in the recent past, she suspected that they might resort to another path aimed at hurting the economy.
"It should be properly investigated," she asserted.
“In the past they burnt the common people and now wonder whether they have taken a different path to cripple the economy. We have to unearth this mystery,” she said.
She requested all to remain alert regarding BNP-Jamaat’s change of strategy of taking to arson terrorism in another form.
“We have to keep this under watch,” she added.
US Embassy expects investigation of alleged assault on journo Zulkarnain's brother
The US Embassy in Dhaka expects an investigation thoroughly into a reported attack on Mahinur Ahmed Khan, brother of UK-based journalist Zulkarnain Saer Khan Sami
"We wish Khan a speedy recovery, and we hope the case is thoroughly investigated and the perpetrators brought to justice," said acting US Embassy Spokesperson Bryan Schiller in a statement on Friday.
Bryan Schiller said the US Embassy is aware of reports that Mahinur was attacked in front of his home in Mirpur last week.
Mahinur Ahmed Khan, 37, came under attack at about 8:00pm on March 17 as he went out to buy some essential items from a shop opposite his house, according to his wife Rubyda Rakhee.
Fakhrul questions investigation into 2009 BDR mutiny
BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir on Saturday alleged that there was no proper investigation into the killings of 57 army officers in the BDR mutiny in 2009.
"We think the way this incident should have been investigated and the way the investigation process should have been conducted to bring out the real offenders and the masterminds through a fair investigation, that didn’t happen unfortunately,” he said.
Fakhrul came up with the remarks while talking to reporters after placing wreaths at a monument set up at Banani Army Graveyard in memory of the army officials killed in the Pilkhana carnage, marking the 14th anniversary of the incident.
He said the Army had conducted an investigation into the BDR mutiny incident, but the nation has not yet got the full report of that probe.
The BNP leader said some people were awarded death sentences and life imprisonment in a case filed in connection with the mutiny and subsequent killings.
But he lamented that the trial of another case filed under the Explosive Substances Act in connection with the same incident has not yet been completed, forcing many soldiers of the erstwhile Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) who claim themselves innocent still stay in jail.
"I was in prison a few days ago. I saw there that many ex-BDR members who were made accused in this case have been living inhumanly for 13/14 years. Their families and future are ruined,” Fakhrul said.
He demanded the government take steps to complete the trial in the explosive case so that those who are innocent can return to normal life with their families.
On 25-26 February 2009, a mutiny in the then Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) left 74 people, including 57 army officers, murdered at the Pilkhana Headquarters.
MSF demands legal action, investigation into Gazipur trader's death 'in custody'
Manabadhikar Shongskriti Foundation (MSF) today (January 19, 2023) condemned the death of a trader "in police custody" in Gazipur and demanded legal action against those involved after ensuring fair investigation.
Family members and locals say that Rabiul Islam, 40, a resident of Peyara Bagan in Gazipur city died while in police custody. The incident came to light on Wednesday.
According to the statement of MSF, the statement of police over the incident was not acceptable. The organization demanded fair investigation into the death, autopsy and publication of the autopsy report.
Read More: Trader's beheaded body found in Chandpur
They also demanded legal action against those involved after finding out the actual reason behind the death.
Police arrested Rabiul along with three others on charge of gambling on January 14. However, police released three of them.
On January 17, a team of police went to the house of Rabiul and took a signature on a white paper from his wife, the latter said. After that, Rabiul’s wife came to know that her husband was dead.
Read more: Trader’s death in ‘police custody’: Locals block Dhaka-M’sing, Dhaka-Tangail highways
Malek Khasru, officer-in-charge of Basan Police Station, said two sub-inspectors took Rabiul to the police station and they let him go from the police station on January 17. But on the way home, Rabiul was knocked down by a truck, he said. Later, he was taken to Shaheed Tajuddin Medical College and Hospital and he died there, according to police.
Enraged by the death, local people, equipped with sticks, put up barricades on Dhaka-Tangail and Dhaka-Mymensingh highways on Wednesday morning, disrupting traffic movement.
Two policemen of Gazipur Metropolitan Police were withdrawn from their duty on Wednesday over the death.
Read More: Trader’s death in ‘police custody’: Locals block Dhaka-M’sing, Dhaka-Tangail highways
The policemen are: Mahbub and Nurul Islam, both assistant sub-inspectors (ASIs) of Bason Police Station, Gazipur Metropolitan Police Deputy Commissioner (Crime) Abu Torab Mohammad Shamsur Rahman told UNB.
Meanwhile, a three-member probe committee headed by Additional Police Commissioner of Gazipur Metropolitan Police Md Delwar Hossain has been formed to investigate this incident, he added.
Top Brazil court greenlights probe of Bolsonaro for riot
A Brazilian Supreme Court justice on Friday authorized an investigation of whether former president Jair Bolsonaro incited the Jan. 8 riot in the nation’s capital, as part of a broader crackdown to hold responsible parties to account.
According to the text of his ruling, Justice Alexandre de Moraes granted the request from the prosecutor-general's office, which cited a video Bolsonaro posted on Facebook two days after the riot. The video claimed Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva wasn't voted into office, but rather was chosen by the Supreme Court and Brazil's electoral authority.
Prosecutors in the recently formed group to combat anti-democratic acts argued earlier Friday that, although Bolsonaro posted the video after the riot, its content was sufficient to justify investigating his conduct beforehand. Bolsonaro deleted it the morning after he first posted it.
Otherwise, Bolsonaro has refrained from commenting on the election since his Oct. 30 defeat. He repeatedly stoked doubt about the reliability of the electronic voting system in the run-up to the vote, filed a request afterward to annul millions of ballots cast using the machines and never conceded.
He has taken up residence in an Orlando suburb since leaving Brazil in late December and skipping the Jan. 1 swearing-in of his leftist successor, and some Democratic lawmakers have urged President Joe Biden to cancel his visa.
Read more: Roots of the Brazilian capital’s chaotic uprising
Following the justice's decision late Friday, Bolsonaro’s lawyer Frederick Wassef said in a statement that the former president “vehemently repudiates the acts of vandalism and destruction” from Jan. 8, but blamed supposed “infiltrators” of the protest — something his far-right backers have also claimed.
The statement also said Bolsonaro “never had any relationship or participation with these spontaneous social movements.”
Brazilian authorities are investigating who enabled Bolsonaro's radical supporters to storm the Supreme Court, Congress and presidential palace in an attempt to overturn results of the October election. Targets include those who summoned rioters to the capital or paid to transport them, and local security personnel who may have stood aside to let the mayhem occur.
Much of the attention thus far has focused on Anderson Torres, Bolsonaro’s former justice minister, who became the federal district’s security chief on Jan. 2, and was in the U.S. on the day of the riot.
De Moraes ordered Torres’ arrest this week and has opened an investigation into his actions, which he characterized as “neglect and collusion.” In his decision, which was made public Friday, de Moraes said that Torres fired subordinates and left the country before the riot, an indication that he was deliberately laying the groundwork for the unrest.
The court also issued an arrest warrant for the former security chief, and he must return within three days or Brazil will request his extradition, Justice Minister Flávio Dino said Friday.
“If by next week his appearance hasn’t been confirmed, of course we will use mechanisms of international legal cooperation. We will trigger procedures next week to carry out his extradition,” Dino said.
Torres has denied wrongdoing, and said Jan. 10 on Twitter that he would interrupt his vacation to return to Brazil and present his defense. Three days later, that has yet to occur.
The minister pointed to a document that Brazilian federal police found upon searching Torres' home; a draft decree that would have seized control of Brazil's electoral authority and potentially overturned the election. The origin and authenticity of the unsigned document are unclear, and it remains unknown if Bolsonaro or his subordinates took any steps to implement the measure that would have been unconstitutional, according to analysts and the Brazilian academy of electoral and political law.
Read more: Pro-Bolsonaro rioters storm Brazil’s top government offices
But the document “will figure in the police investigation, because it even more fully reveals the existence of a chain of people responsible for the criminal events,” Dino said, adding that Torres will need to inform police who drafted it.
By failing to initiate a probe against the document's author or report its existence, Torres at very could be charged with dereliction of duty, said Mario Sérgio Lima, a political analyst at Medley Advisors.
Torres said on Twitter that the document was probably found in a pile along with others intended for shredding, and that it was leaked out of context feed false narratives aimed at discrediting him.
Dino told reporters Friday morning that no connection has yet been established between the capital riot and Bolsonaro.
The federal district’s former governor and former military police chief are also targets of the Supreme Court investigation made public Friday. Both were removed from their positions after the riot.
Also on Friday night, the popular social media accounts of several prominent right-wing figures were suspended in Brazil in response to a court order, which journalist Glenn Greenwald obtained and detailed on a live social media broadcast.
The order, also issued by Justice de Moraes, was directed at six social media platforms and established a two-hour deadline to block the accounts or face fines. The accounts belong to a digital influencer, a YouTuber recently elected federal lawmaker, a podcast host in the mold of Joe Rogan, and an evangelical pastor and senator-elect, among others.
We support calls for “thorough, transparent investigation” over Bangladeshi-American student's death: US Embassy
The US Embassy in Dhaka has extended its condolences to the family and loved ones of Bangladeshi-American student of University of Massachusetts, Sayed Faisal.
US Embassy Spokesperson Jeff Ridenour released a statement in this regard today.
He said they support “calls for a thorough and transparent investigation” by the District Attorney’s Office.
Earlier, a human chain was formed in front of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Dhaka, demanding justice for the "killing" of Sayed Faisal.
Also Read: Killing of Bangladeshi-American in US: Human chain in front of MoFA demands justice
The protest took place when US National Security Council’s Senior Director for South Asia Rear Admiral Eileen Laubacher is visiting Bangladesh. She had a scheduled meeting with Foreign Secretary Masud Bin Momen at state guesthouse Padma this afternoon.
The protestors at the human chain shouted: “We want justice.
A Cambridge Police officer shot and killed an allegedly armed Faisal on Wednesday, prompting dozens to protest police brutality and call for transparency at Cambridge City Hall on Thursday.
Journalist and columnist Ajoy Dasgupta described the incident as “very unfortunate” and said that the US police shot dead the Bangladeshi who was not found guilty of any crime.
“We want justice for him,” he said.
BNP demands neutral probe into its Nayapaltan office vandalism
BNP has claimed that valuables worth over Tk 50.5 lakh were damaged in police attack at its Nayapaltan central office on December 7 and demanded neutral investigation into it.
BNP standing committee member Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain said this at a press briefing on Sunday at party chairperson’s Gulshan office in the capital.
He said looting of laptops, computers, hard disk, documents, bank documents, cash from BNP’s Nayapaltan office was actually an incident of robbery.
Read: Police conducted search operation at BNP’s Nayapaltan office for the sake of investigation
“According to witnesses, after police action at BNP’s central office, ruling party ‘s miscreants vandalised properties and took part in looting that day with support of the law enforcers on December 7,” said Mosharraf.
The way police violated the general law of keeping owner and neutral party as witnesses during any search at any office or residence reminds of the Pakistani military’s activities during Liberation War, he said.
“We strongly condemn and protest the incident and demand neutral probe into it and want justice,” he added.
Besides, Khandaker Mosharraf demanded immediate release of BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir , standing committee member Mirza Abaas and other arrested party leaders and activists and demanded withdrawal of cases filed against them.
Read: BNP Office Raid: Govt's inhuman attitude exposed to world, says Oli
When asked, whether BNP will move the court Khandaker Mosharraf said, “We sought neutral investigation and will see what happens. No further decision has been made yet.”
On Dec 7, a Swechchasebak Dal leader was killed and around 50 others were injured in a clash between police and the BNP activists in front of the party’s Nayapaltan central office ahead of its December 10 rally.