A man was arrested yesterday in a case filed under the Digital Security Act in Thakurgaon for making “derogatory remarks” about Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and followers of Awami League on Facebook.
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Activists gather at several places in Dhaka, Bangladesh, to protest the death of writer Mushtaq Ahmed under police custody, 26 February 2021, Nahid Hasan/Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images Mushtaq Ahmed was arrested in May 2020 for posting criticism of the government s pandemic response on Facebook. His petitions for bail had been repeatedly denied.
This statement was originally published on hrw.org on 26 February 2021.
Bangladesh authorities should conduct a transparent and independent investigation into the circumstances of Mushtaq Ahmed’s death in custody, Human Rights Watch said today. Ahmed, a writer, died in prison on February 25, 2021, after being held in pretrial detention for nine months for posting on Facebook criticism of the government’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Rights Groups, Diplomats Seek Impartial Probe into Bangladesh Writer s Custodial Death
Global support has also been pouring in for cartoonist Ahmed Kabir Kishore, who was arrested along with the deceased writer in May 2020, as Bangladesh authorities face allegations of torture.
Bangladeshi writer Mushtaq Ahmed died in prison during detention. Photo: Facebook.
New Delhi: Human rights groups and heads of missions of several countries in Dhaka have urged a transparent and independent probe into the death in custody of writer Mushtaq Ahmed in a Bangladesh prison on February 25.
Ahmed was arrested by the authorities for a Facebook post that criticised the countryâs response to the COVID-19 pandemic and had been in pre-trial detention for the last nine months.
Anger in Bangladesh after arrested writer dies in jail
Mushtaq Ahmed was arrested nine months ago for criticizing corruption and the govt s poor Covid-19 response
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Protesters demonstrate in Dhaka on Feb. 26 over the death of writer Mushtaq Ahmed. (Photo supplied)
A prominent Bangladeshi writer has died in a high-security prison nine months after he was arrested under the country’s draconian Digital Security Act for criticizing corruption and the government’s poor response to the Covid-19 pandemic on Facebook.
Mushtaq Ahmed, 53, a noted writer and founder of the country’s first commercially successful crocodile farm, died on Feb. 25.
He was transported after suddenly falling ill to Shaheed Tajuddin Medical College, where a doctor declared him dead, said Gias Uddin, jail superintendent of Kashimpur prison in Gazipur district near capital Dhaka.