12 individuals have been slapped with a cyber-crime lawsuit

Before the inception of a fast-track tribunal in 2013, you would be hard pressed to find a person indicted because of committing a cyber-crime. Hardly a surprise as cyber-crime laws in Bangladesh were perhaps not as prevalent or widespread even today as it is on, let’s say much more digitally advanced nations. It is after all a fairly new avenue, and it was not until April 9, 2018, Bangladesh listed its new Digital Security Bill in parliament, which was then sent to a parliamentary standing committee for review. The proposed law was in part intended to replace section 57 of the Information and Communication Technology Act (ICT Act) 2006.

Now when the occasion does arrive, especially if it is a high profile one it tends to catch the nation’s attention, as was the case with Monirul Islam, a rubber plantation worker in Srimongol, southern Bangladesh, who was arrested on April 2017, over allegations of defaming the Bangladesh’s Prime Minister and “harming the image of Bangladesh”.

So, when news filters through that not one but a total of 12 individuals and organizations (listed below, starting with the primary defendant) have been slapped with a cyber-crime lawsuit, filed in accordance with the now freshly inducted Digital Security Act, it forces you to take notice.

Our court correspondent who is already fairly busy these days, hurried over to the Magistrate’s court in Rajbari, where the lawsuit was filed by one Mr Akbar Ali, against the staff and contributors of an online based news Publication called ‘PortalBangladesh.com’. Our correspondent was able to find out that defamatory article bearing abusive messages and comments against Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her family were published by this news outlet. The lawsuit specifically names those involved in writing the article and of course those who published it subsequently, including the co-editor of PortalBangladesh.com. Nevertheless, the lawsuit was filed on 12 March and the names of those accused along with ‘PortalBangladesh.com’ are, Md. Rashed Alam, MD Anisuzzaman, Azir Uddin, Shah Mohammad Shahinur Rab, MD Hasnain, Mohammad Abu Zobayer Rabbani, MD Sabbir Hossain, Chinmoy Debnath, Nizamuddin Dodon, Moshiul Hossain Khan, Kamrul Islam, MD Tofail Hossain.

Now since the changes have been wrung, anyone found guilty under the new anti-cybercrime laws face serious repercussions including up to 14 years in jail, and a sizeable fine. Our correspondent is yet to determine any ulterior reasons behind the plaintiff’s decision to launch a lawsuit of this stature against such a large group. It is unclear whether it was politically motivated as well. The case files meanwhile cite that the plaintiff is merely a devout patriot and an Awami League (current Bangladeshi regime) loyalist.

The defendants meanwhile (most of them as our correspondent found out) were currently plying their trade outside Bangladesh. Due to that very information it has been difficult to garner any information on them.

However we did manage to speak to the investigating office for this lawsuit one Mr Swapan Kumar Majumder, Officer-in-charge of the Rajbari Police station, who are overseeing the general investigations to be conducted regarding this lawsuit. He stated, “Any allegation brought against the honourable Prime Minister, be it small of a large magnitude, is treated with extreme importance here, and a with a level of caution as well. It is easy to just jump to conclusions here without first liaising with the accused individuals here and establishing whether or not the allegations brought have any truth to them.” When asked if that has been possible so far he offered, “No because in this unique case, a large portion of the defendants happen to be out of the country and we have only managed to establish that for a few of them. We are yet to trace the whereabouts of all of them. But you shall be informed in due course, so please no more questions.”

We contacted the Home Ministry for comments on this lawsuit and were rudely declined access to either a spokesperson or representative of the government, by the very irate official who received our call. Any attempts to contact ‘PortalBangladesh.com’ who are at the centre of this lawsuit have been unsuccessful as well.

We will bring you more news about this lawsuit so stay tuned.



Minorities in Bangladesh: A matter of survival

At least 100 Hindu were killed and 31 were disappeared in 2017 as a result of communal attack in Bangladesh; according to a report of BJHM (Bangladesh Hindu Mohajot). Moreover, it has been confirmed by the report that 782 Hindu have been forced to leave country or have been threatened to leave the country, 23 Hindus have been forcibly converted to Islam, at least 25 Hindu women and children were raped and at least 235 Hindu temples were vandalized.

The report confirms that; the inglorious history of minority attacks which is often referred to the ethnic cleansing; has been continuing in Bangladesh. There is no official report yet in 2018 demonstrating the proper scenario; but it is thought that the number of attack is not less if not more than the previous year.

This Article aims at pointing out the reason of the resurgence in the minority attack in Bangladesh and the possible steps should be taken by minorities to prevent it by analysing the history of minority attacks in Bangladesh.

Historical Scenario:

During 1971 Liberation war, by which Bangladesh got independence,29% total population were Hindu. But, the percentage is only 8.96% now. This is mainly because of systematic land graving, killing, vandalizing religious establishment and force conversion of the minority people in Bangladesh.

During 1971 Liberation war, minority in Bangladesh specially the Hindus were targeted to be killed and tortured alleging their connection with India. As a result, estimated 6 million Hindu Refugees from Bangladesh gathered in India to save their lives. After the Liberation war when Bangladesh became independent, most of them returned to Bangladesh hoping it would be a secular state ensuring equal rights for people from all race and religion. The constitution made by the then Awamileague Government ensured secularism principles in the constitution which resulted in much acceptance of Awamileague as a political party to the minorities of the country.

However, it did not take long to dream be faded for the minority communities of the country, following a dramatic change in Bangladeshi Politics in 1975 after demise of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. After 1975 the other political parties apart from Awamileague of the country started to do systematic oppression to the minority with a view to making their survival harder in the country. Though at present Awamileague is in the state power, the hostile environment for the minority in the country has not changed and the main reason behind is Awamileague’s reluctance to stick on its secularism characteristics. As a result, in 21st century people in Bangladesh are being attacked only because of their religious identity! Advocate Direndra Ghosh, the chief of the Minority Watch, Bangladesh has recently revealed that, every day at least 500 Hindus are being forced to leave their motherland in Bangladesh.

Reason of the frequent attack in Bangladesh:

Bangladesh has lost its secularism characteristics practically and constitutionally at present. Recently, Bangladeshi Court has upheld the Islam as the state religion repealing Secularism in the constitution. Though, the amendment in the constitution was done by court, it was apparent that such a decision was biased by the government who was reluctant to re-establish secularism in Constitution as a result of their ‘compromise’ with Hefazat-e-Islam,the biggest Islamist group in Bangladesh. That constitutional change is not an isolated rather consequence of the constant pressure by the radical Muslims of the country. Over the last decade Socio-economically Bangladesh has turned into Islamic controlled system. Thousands of Madrasahs have been established across the country where minimum tolerance to the people of the other religion is taught. Intolerance for different opinions other than Islam is very visible now a day mainly because of wide spread use of Social Media. In Bangladesh you can’t express your free thought now as you will be victim of racial attack by the radical Muslims. And the audacity of them is getting beyond control as there are no preventive measures to stop them. Most of the time the attackers on the minority go unpunished and there is no legal action at all against those atrocities in social media.

During the election minorities in Bangladesh generally support Awamileague which was thought to be better than others in term of securing Minority Rights in Bangladesh. But since after securing power in 2014, in an uncontested election Awamileague has been seemed to be reluctant to take strong actions against the Islamists. This is because, to continue in state  power Awamileague has been controlling their political opposition and they do not want  any opposition from the Islamist which could create uncomfortable situation in the power. Doing so, they have been implementing one after another demand of the Islamist like removing lady justice sculpture, compromising with Hefazat-E-Islam, and the biggest Islamist supported group of the country. Moreover, Awamileague leaders got involved in minority attack reportedly over the years for land grabbing. In 2017 Miscreants vandalised and looted at least 10 Hindu temples in Brahmanbaria’s Nasirnagar this afternoon along with hundreds of houses of the Hindu community. Later it was appeared from public media investigation that none but Awamileague ally was responsible for that attack. It is established now that being a Awamileague supporter is a double-edged sword for the minorities in Bangladesh as Awamileague opposition attacks the minorities for not supporting Awamileague while Awamileague supporters attack minorities for not casting enough votes during the election.

Road to survival:

The minority in Bangladesh is in such a critical situation where there is no other option than creating strong resistance by the minorities in Bangladesh for their survival. They will also have to decentralize their political support from Awamileague.

Rangpur,Nasirnagar & Ramu, three biggest rampages against the minorities in Bangladesh in recent history, indicates that such attacks were foreseeable. But, surprisingly there were no visible precautions to stop those attacks. It is understandable that any resistance by the minorities would not last long, but a strong message could be sent by such a resistance. During the Gujarat Riot in 2002 minorities in western India were attacked first. Being attacked, they did not sit down rather overcoming the initial loss minorities in Gujarat made strong resistance and turned the attack into riot. Though lots of minorities lost their lives because of the resistance, a strong message was established that eyes would be for eyes.

For the survival in Bangladesh, minorities of Bangladesh should make strong and farm resistance against any attack and turn those attacks in ‘riot’!

On the other hand, minorities in Bangladesh should stop their unconditional support to Awamileague for their survival. In India, though minorities are more unlikely to cast their votes for BJP, they are not blind to Congress only. They are divided in their political opinions centrally and regionally. As a result, they are getting a good outcome.

In Andhra Pradesh 4% reservation are secured in employment and educational institutions only for Muslim. In Tamil Nadu the reservation is 3.5% for Muslim and Christian which is 7% in total. In Kerala reservation in Public Service Commission for Muslim is 12%, which is 9% in Tamil Nadu 26.56% of total population in Kerala is Muslim, 9% and 5.6% respectively in AP and Tamil Nadu.

On the other hand, though the percentage of the minorities comprising of Hindu, Buddhist and Christians in Bangladesh is very marginal of the total population, there is no reservation in any sector for them. Even Awamileague has been unconditionally supported by the minorities; it has done nothing notable for the minorities in their 10 continuous years in power. Rather during the Awamilaegue Regime; abolishment of secularism from the constitution by replacing Islam as state religion has been secured, Islamic group Hefazat-E-Islam has been in much more stronger position by the Awamileague patronization. The most alarming sign comes into light when the President of Bangladesh Awamileague declares that the country will run in accordance with Medina Charter (Islamic Regulations which was drawn up on behalf of the Islamic Prophet Muhammad shortly after his arrival at Medina in 622 CE, flowing the Hijra from Mecca).

In fine, instead of unconditionally supporting Awamileague, minorities in Bangladesh should politically be decentralized and make the political parties dependant on them for their valuable votes. Political decentralization and making strong resistance against any attack could only be the way of survival for the minorities in Bangladesh.



55 Accused of Blasphemy Now…Crackdown Continues with No Signs Of Ceasing

Main Accused Zobair Hossain

It will perhaps go down as one of the most astonishing lawsuits ever filed in a court of law of Bangladesh, but it has happened and this time 55 individuals have been accused of committing blasphemy, an act worthy of being punishable by death according to certain sections of the Bangladeshi society. The accused here certainly face some serious legal repercussions, and of course the wrath of the Bangladeshi society, even its administration as the case will surely be well-publicised.

In accordance with Bangladesh Penal Code 295, C. R. case number 719/18 was filed with the Senior Judicial Magistrate Court, Dhaka this past 17/10/2018. The plaintiff, one Mr Munshi Makidul Islam, has listed more than 4 dozen individuals whom he believes to have “hurt the religious sentimentality of a nation” and are culpable of “concocting various obscenities” about Islam and its Prophet (PBUH).

The 55 individuals, that is their exact number, have been named as follows,

Zobair Hossain (primary accused) (31), Arifur Rahman, Md. Tofayel Hossain, Hosni Mobarak, Secular Publishers Ltd, Arunangsho Chakrabarty, Chinmoy Debnath, Adnan Saqib, Abdur Rahman , Abu Hanif , Syed Mohammad Sajeeb Abed , Syed Sunvy Anick Hossain, Taushnuva Fardousi , Naymul Islam , M D Abdullah Al Hasan , H.M Atiqur Rahman , Asif Abrar Titu , Abul Hasnat , Hayat Hamid Ullah Robin , Shafi Nawaz Shipu , Miltan Kumar Dey , Sharmin Jannat Bhutto, Abu Taher Md. Mostafa, Saiful Islam, Arman Ahmed, Nazmul Hossain, Sujan Chandra Deb, Suranjoy Sarker, Syed Samun Ali , Faisal Hossain Anick, Abdul Ahad Shanto , Syed Ishtiak Hossain , Pinaki Deb Apu , Sohag Kazi , Enayetul Huda , Roosevelt Halder , Yeaz Kawsar , Maruf Hasan, Syed Ishtiak Hossain Shaon , Tahera Sultana , Farhana Yasmin , Abdul Ahad , Masud Khan , M.D Sabbir Hossain , Jawad Nirjhor , Kishore Das , Hafizur Rahman , Abdul Kader , Shipon Ahmed , A.F.M Abdullah Masum , Tamzid Hossain , Rakibul Islam Pintu , Farzana Islam , Bani Mahmud Shuvo , Al Mamun Ahmed

The above-named individuals have been accused of writing and contributing blasphemous content to a magazine called “Atheist in Bangladesh”. The magazine reportedly features crude and vociferous articles against religion in general, Islam in particular. More than anything the plaintiff Mr Makidul Islam appeared most perturbed at the lewd and disrespectful portrayal of Prophet Mohammed (PBUH). Mr Makidul Islam states the Prophet (PBUH) is his role model, whose lifestyle is his guiding principle.

Our court correspondent reports that the plaintiff Mr Makidul Islam came across the magazine shortly after it was published. Mr Makidul could gauge just by the title, as he states, that the magazine was abusive. However, once he delved deep, he was rocked to the core at the vile and baseless lies aimed at religion, pointedly at Islam and Muslims, the emissaries of peace.

However, we are not surprised to see ‘Atheist in Bangladesh’ in the midst of it all again. The organization, which sponsors these magazines, have gained a notorious reputation here in Bangladesh so far for their anti-religious stance, and have been subjected to multiple lawsuits over recent years, similar to the one we are focusing on now.

Nevertheless, our court correspondent decides to conduct a one-man brief investigation and his first move was to get in touch with the accused. That was easier said than done. He tried contacting ‘Atheist in Bangladesh’ proper but information available on their website (as unearthed from court sources) is scant, however, we did manage to find an email address. We are still waiting for a response from them. What was unsurprising again, was that none of the accused were available for comment. In fact, our correspondent was able to discover fairly quickly that most of them were already residing abroad.

Mr Makidul, of course, was available to spare us a few choice words. For the purpose of keeping this space clean, we will refrain from publishing the colourful language Mr Makidul employed at times. Speaking to us via Skype, Mr Makidul says, “I’m proud to have taken the initiative to do something about this unwanted epidemic which threatens to cripple our nation. No one is doing anything about it! Least of all the government who have seemingly given up after being overwhelmed by the sheer numbers these (colourful language) have. As a responsible citizen, pious Muslim, I felt compelled to have them tried for the obscenities they have concocted, none more so that the unwarranted criticism of our beloved Prophet Mohammed (PBUH)”

This lawsuit comes of course on the back what is currently rather a fragile environment in Bangladesh. From a social standpoint, the nation is divided into factions now, some embracing the growing trend of fundamentalism, some like the government and law enforcement authorities who are currently struggling to subjugate the random bouts of terrorism, militancy that has spread throughout the nation in current times. And there is another faction much like the accused, who chose to be liberal, perhaps too liberal in their thinking and their actions. The recently murdered bloggers, free-thinking souls, journalists, activists, writers can also be included in this group.

Reactions towards the lawsuit have been decidedly hostile. Social media platforms (such as Facebook, Twitter, Reddit which were the ones we tracked for reaction) which have been rife ever since news of the lawsuit broke in, indicate that the public agrees with Mr. Makidul Islam ’s action.

In stark contrast though, several independent writers, bloggers, and online activists have firmly criticised Mr Makidul Islam, and accused the law of being “biased and medieval”.

Meanwhile, our correspondent did pay a visit to The Police Bureau of Instigations (PBI), seeking to have a word with the person in charge of investigating the charges brought forth in this lawsuit. We were sadly unable to get a hold of him. Our correspondent, however, promises to bring our readers an update as soon as we know more.

 



LGBT Communities in South Asia: When social values, religion or politics aren’t enough to marginalise people

“Perhaps now fears over my life may have eased somewhat. But as a bisexual woman, I do not think I will ever escape being marginalised. Even though I reside within what you’d consider a tolerant society.”

These are the words of one Ms Taushnuva Fardousi, a Bangladeshi Muslim woman, who is currently on a study leave in the UK. She happens to be one of many members of the LGBT community, scattered across the world, seeking refuge because of their unique sexual preferences. Her words meanwhile are more or less echoed by almost every single lesbian, bisexual, transgender or gay person we have had the benefit of speaking to.

It is no secret that a large number of LGBT men, women have actively sought asylum anywhere where they would not be fined, harassed or ostracized because of their sexuality. And most of these applications, alarmingly, tend to originate from South East Asia.

There are several reasons to slate South East Asia as a sub-par region of a continent which in truth has been on the ascendancy in the last few years, if latest audits of economic growth and standard of living ratios are anything to go by.

The likes of Pakistan still dabbles in honour killings (such as the high profile one of Qandeel Baloch, 26, a social media celebrity) in attempt to subdue anyone who struggles to come to terms with its conservative values. Bangladesh to be honest has found it quite difficult to shed its reputation as a hostile nation towards religious and ethnic minorities. According to latest country reports, it is now in the on its way to be (if it’s not already in the throes of) overwhelmed by an epidemic of religious fundamentalism. Not to mention it legally condemns LGBT individuals as ‘unnatural’ offenders, reserving fines and generous jail times for them.

The Indian Supreme court meanwhile has decriminalised homosexuality and bisexuality in a landmark ruling (https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-45429664), and that in itself qualifies as a step forward in the right direction. But is it enough to convince us sceptics? Because to be honest India, just like Pakistan, still remains amongst those nations whereby the death penalty is the highest form of punishment dished out. And really, has that stopped anyone from committing murders in India, or Pakistan for that matter where regular honour killings are still a legitimate concern? Thus, should we just believe that the Supremes court’s abovementioned decision has completely abolished or will fully stem the incessant abuse LGBT communities in India continue to be subjected to till today?

We would whole-heartedly like to say yes but unfortunately we can’t. For if the Indian sub-continent has proved something throughout its rather long, rich, and illustrious history is that it is not all that receptive to change. The continuing Hindu-Muslim conflicts across the continent, minority persecutions (such as the systematic extermination of Rohingya’s in the Bangladesh-Myanmar border), and the existence of medieval, superficial social values are living proof of that.

Bangladesh it seems is worse off according to Mr Abdur Rahman, who is living in the United Kingdom.

“Back home people think I am carrying some of sort of virus which has made me like this. As if I woke up one day and I suddenly “felt” gay. My dad, may Allah bless him, I could never tell him. How can I? His only son, his pride and joy. Who he was going to find a lovely bride for? So my options back then were one suicide, two suicide, or three just run away and keep running”, he finished.

While its immediate neighbour (India) seems to be at least attempting to redeem itself in front of the LGBT community, Bangladesh continues to be trigger happy when it comes to reprimanding members of its own LGBT communities. Often severely so.

As recently as 19/05/2017, Bangladesh Rapid Action Battalion (an elite paramilitary force with certain special executive powers) arrested as many as 27 young men on charges of engaging in ‘homosexual activities’ (https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/bangladesh-authorities-arrest-27-men-gay-homosexuality-muslim-country-islam-police-charge-a7744366.html)

“It is absolutely terrifying, and it goes to demonstrate the deplorable state of members of the LGBT community in South-East Asia, not just in Bangladesh” Taushnuva replied, when we asked her how she felt about the aforementioned crackdown on gay men in Bangladesh.

We also probed her further on whether she considered the implications of coming out as a bisexual Muslim woman in Bangladesh. “Of course I did and I had to. The internal struggle with myself (whether to come out or not) was unbearable. I had to account for my life, my career choices, what it meant for my education. I did not have an inkling that the consequences would be of such severe magnitudes, that I would have to hide myself like a rat from my own people. It is as if I am the by-product of some sort of sin. That I never should have been born” she said.

It truly is a brutal picture painted by the above mentioned individuals we spoke to. It begs the question whether there is an end to this acrimonious cycle. While India seems to be bucking the trend, we are sceptical of its effect. The immediate aftermath of course is that homosexuality or bisexuality will no longer be a crime. But we wonder just how long it will take to change the Indian society’s perspective. Will it truly stop homosexual or bisexual people there from being bullied or ostracized? Meanwhile India’s neighbours continue to be as rigid and as conservative towards such liberal sexual preferences in general. If anything it seems as if their efforts crackdown on the LGBT communities across the sub-continent have intensified.

What adds to fire to the fuel of course is the sub-continents stiff religious values, here strict adherence to them. We can write a book debating the pros and cons of religion, but perhaps that discussion is for another time. For the time being though, religion, especially Islam condemns homosexuality or bisexuality as a shameful sin worthy of being punished with death. Bangladesh and Pakistan of course are Muslim majority countries and India, although dwarfed in terms of numbers, still has a sizeable contingent of Muslims within their boundaries.

It feels sad to conclude on such a bleak note, but what can we do? After all even the slightest improvements often raise more questions than answers. We can sit here and talk about radical change, but is there even the slightest whiff of anything forthcoming? It is almost as if the sub-continent has settled into a lull, a stupor state where it finds itself to be very comfortable. How long before members of South-Asia’s LGBT community continue to seek refuge elsewhere out of fear of persecution? How long before they can go back home? How long before the can say with pride and without fear that I am a gay man, a lesbian woman or a bisexual person?



Dhaka Blasphemy Lawsuit: 28 Named This Time As “Enemies Of Islam”

In what is becoming a recurring theme now in Bangladesh these days, the capital Dhaka experienced a bit rude awakening today, as news of yet another blasphemy lawsuit slowly filtered through this morning.

The blasphemy lawsuit in question, was failed against 28 people (yes that is more than 2 dozen) of various professions and backgrounds. This past 12th of February saw one Mr Habibur Rahman, the plaintiff here, file a blasphemy lawsuit with the Dhaka Judicial Magistrate Court-1, Amoli court, accusing the creators and contributors of a magazine called ‘Atheist in Bangladesh’ of ‘ writing, publishing crude and blasphemous content against Islam’. The lawsuit has been filed in accordance with the much debated Bangladesh Penal code 295.

According to reports the plaintiff Mr Habibur Rahman an active member of the infamous religious political group Hefazat-E-Islami Bangladesh. He alleges that the above named magazine had been indulging itself in berating, insulting and lewdly criticising religion, especially Islam, for quite some time now. As a result Mr Habibur Rahman ‘felt compelled’ to take action against these ‘enemies of Islam’ and ‘spawns of atheists’ as he referred to them.

Our court correspondent did manage to get a hold of him and when questioned with regards to the lawsuit Mr Rahman replied, “These writers make crude comments, belittle Islam as they see fit and the government or Foreign Ministry does nothing about it. There is no place for the spawns of atheists in this pure land of Allah.” Mr Habibur Rahman also demanded that the government establish ‘Shariyah Rule’ in Bangladesh otherwise they will not be able to ‘last long’ in this country.

Our court correspondent did try and get in touch with the Foreign Ministry but no one was available for a comment.

It is worth mentioning that the primary defendant in this lawsuit is one Mr Yeaz Kawsar, a blogger and online activist. It was later discovered that Mr Kawsar is actually facing several previous charges where he has allegedly belittled and had been blasphemous towards religion. Moreover he also happens to be one of the bloggers, writers, free thinking spirits named in the kill-list published a few years ago by the notorious (and still at large) extremist group, Ansarullah Bangla Team.

Along with Mr Kawsar the other notable names accused in this lawsuit are – Mr Arifur Rahman who is the editor of this magazine, ‘Secular publishers’ (who published it), Pinaki Deb Apu, Apurbo Kumar Rai, Hosni Mubarak, Shahadat Hossain, Syed Ishtiak Hossain, Md. Tofayel Hossain, Adnan Sakib, Roosevelt Haldar, Abu Hanif, Syed Mohammad Shojib Abed, Md Mehedi Hossain, Syed Sunvy Anick Hossain, Enayetul Huda, Naymul Islam, Md Abdullah Al Hasan, Kazi Md Saiful Haque, Ashef Abrar Titu, Hussain Mohammad Parvez, Riana Trina, Miltan Kumar Dey, Tamzid Hossain, Abu Taher Md Mustafa, Siddikur Rahman, Sharmin Khan, Kazi Mohammad Abu Bokkor Siddiki.

Meanwhile several members of Hefazat-E-Islami, seemingly encouraged by the initiative shown by their peer Mr Habibur Rahman, overwhelmed the court premises that day before heatedly protesting against ‘Atheist in Bangladesh’ and its contributors. According to reports they later formed into a protest rally and marched towards Gulistan, the capital’s chief commercial town. During that time there are scattered reports of violence and destruction of property carried out by the Hefazat protestors.



16 individuals have been slapped with an ICT lawsuit

Bangladesh has some broad media laws to tackle issues ranging from defamation to fake news, and the spread of propaganda, but many in the local media allege these laws are now being used to curb free speech and rein in press freedom in the country. Basically, section 57 of Bangladesh’s Information and Communication Act is an attack on freedom of expression and repressive.

As it turned out a lawsuit was filed on 27th February 2017 against 16 individuals in accordance with section 57 of Bangladesh’s Information and Communication Act 2006, the merits of which will be contested in the Magistrate’s Court in Madaripur. The case number is 93/2017.

What is of greater importance however is the lawsuit’s connection to the Prime Minister herself. Our court correspondence informs us that there is no direct. However, the plaintiff, one Mr MD Monir Hawlader, Sub Inspector of Rajoir Police Station states the accused individuals in this lawsuit have slandered the good name of the Prime Minister Hasina, her government, made seditious statements and conspired against Bangladesh.

Speaking of the accused, a total of 16 individual (listed below, starting with the primary defendant) have been named as defendants in this lawsuit. The defendants allegedly had an abusive statement published in the social media platform ‘Facebook’. The said post, our correspondent states, contain ‘vile and provocative’ comments against Prime Minister Hasina.

The names of those accused in this lawsuit are as follows:

Kasem Sarder, Dilip Chandra Sarkar, Mohammad Hafizur Rahman, Toiyeb Ali, Nihar Ranjan Sarkar, Zafar Hawlader, Azgar Bepary, Yousuf Chokder, Sajib Khan, Rajib Khan, Dipak Majumder, Palash Kumar Das, Samir Kumar Shil, Kamal Das, Sudeb Mandal.

Our correspondent did try to get in touch with the plaintiff but was unsuccessful. Our correspondent also reached out to the Police for comments. We were refused entry into the station proper as a spokesperson for the police chose to speak to us outside instead. He stated, “These are very serious allegations and our officers are trying their best to coordinate their efforts into investigating them. Of course, we are yet to conclude primary investigations before producing a charge sheet, but nevertheless the media will be notified in due course if there are any significant developments.”

Meanwhile, we got in touch with the Bangladesh Home ministry regarding this lawsuit and are yet to receive a response, so watch this space.

Although the courts of Bangladesh are fairly saturated with defamation lawsuits, high profile ones such as this one tend to bear added implications rather than just legal ones.

According to Section 57 of Information and Communication Act 2016, the accused, if found guilty of slandering Prime Minister Hasina and government, will be liable to not only face a sizeable fine but also a significant amount of jail time.



Christian priest under threat by Islamic militant group

Christians are a minority in Bangladesh and are facing increasing threats of violent persecution from radical Muslims.

saimon Halder

Simon Halder, Priest of a Seventh Day Adventist Church

Simon Halder, a Priest of Seventh Day Adventist Christian Church in Mongla, Bangladesh has been threatened with death by a letter from an Islamic Militant group saying that the Christians are exploiting Islam in Bangladesh by converting Muslims into Christians, so they will kill him and his family by any means. This threat was issued by Shayokh Mosaddek Al Arabi, spokesperson of Islami Khelafote Mujahidin Bangladesh (IKMB).

More than 2,000 Bangladeshi Christians gathered Monday to pray against brutal persecution at the hands of Islamic terrorists.

Christians comprise roughly one percent of the country’s nearly 170-million people, but that number increases, according to Open Doors investigators. “As the Christian minority is growing, it faces more and more restrictions and challenges. This pressure is not driven by the government, but by radical Islamic groups, local religious leaders and families.”

The killing by Islamic militants of four secular bloggers, an Italian and a Japanese citizen and, most recently, a secular publisher in October 2015 has prompted the government of President Abdul Hamid “to declare war” against radical elements, Open Doors noted.



SWIFT is responsible

Head of govt probe body on $81m BB fund heist describes how SWIFT made the payment system vulnerable to cyber attack

A government committee probing the Bangladesh Bank heist has held SWIFT responsible for weakening the payment system which allowed cyber thieves to steal $81 million from the central bank’s account with the New York Fed.

“Primarily, SWIFT is responsible for the incident,” Mohammed Farashuddin, the head of the three-member panel, told reporters at the BB yesterday at his first media briefing on the heist.

Since the unknown hackers pulled off the history’s biggest cyber heist on February 4, the Brussels-based SWIFT (Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication) has repeatedly maintained that its core message system with the BB was not compromised.

But Farashuddin said SWIFT linked its platform to the real-time gross settlement system or RTGS by removing antivirus software on its own system which left the entire network vulnerable to cyber attacks. Secondly, SWIFT did not put in place a hardware security module, a computing device that safeguards and manages digital keys for strong authentication and provides crypto-processing.

The system’s initial design included a backup, but there has been no such backup in place as of yet, according to Farashuddin.

Last week, SWIFT rejected allegations by officials in Bangladesh that technicians with the global messaging system made the BB more vulnerable to hacking.

Farashuddin said, “SWIFT said all responsibilities rested upon Bangladesh. But it’s not correct. It doesn’t mean that we are rebuking SWIFT.”

“But SWIFT must accept responsibility for the incident. They should help Bangladesh Bank.”

SWIFT now says its job is to provide solutions and it’s the client’s responsibility to ensure the safety of the system, Farashuddin said. “I admit that.”

But he emphasised that if SWIFT or any individual provides any system, it is the provider’s responsibility to supply a secure system and make sure that it doesn’t become vulnerable midway.

The SWIFT system has been working in Bangladesh since 1995.

In March last year, SWIFT wrote to the BB that the Belgian organisation wants to link the SWIFT platform with RTGS.

“The letter contained nothing but excitement and flattery. It didn’t explain how Bangladesh and the BB would benefit if the linking goes ahead,” said Farashuddin.

Upon receiving the letter, the bank’s executive committee approved it in an irresponsible manner, and the decision was “devoid of common sense”, he said.

Before the link was established, 13 steps should have been followed: some by SWIFT, some by the BB and some jointly by the two, he said.

But the SWIFT platform at the BB was connected with the RTGS in November last year without following two or three major procedures, he said.

The connection was supposed to be established after SWIFT provided the BB with a hardware security module. But SWIFT didn’t do so.

Later, the module was brought in, but it is yet to be installed, said the former BB governor.

While establishing the link, it was found that the connection could not be established due to the anti-virus embedded with the SWIFT platform.

When the link was established, the SWIFT engineers tried to disable the anti-virus in vain. Later, the anti-virus was uninstalled because the two systems couldn’t be connected while it was active, according to Farashuddin.

It appears that the BB officials involved in the matter were not aware of the changes, he said.

An engineer from SWIFT gave an interim connection, and it was agreed that once the regular connection was established, the interim connection would be removed.

But the interim connection was not discarded even after the regular connection was established, said the former BB governor.

The system’s initial design included a backup, but no such backup has yet been put in place in the BB system, he said.

“But even after the establishment of the connection, SWIFT has not yet explained to BB officials how the system operates and what types of problems could surface.”

The SWIFT engineers gave BB officials instructions to keep the server running round-the-clock — first verbally before their departure and later through telephone correspondences.

“Because of all these reasons, we think that SWIFT system had been compromised.”

There was no logic behind establishing the connection between the SWIFT platform at the BB and the RTGS, he said.

The BB carries out international transactions through SWIFT while the RTGS processes local transactions. “There is no logic behind connecting local transactions with international transactions.”

Farashuddin said 18 messages with payment instructions worth $500 million were sent from the BB back office to the Fed till 7:15pm on February 4.

Of the amount, $200 million was sent for buying bonds from Basel Bank.

Later that night, the hackers broke into the BB system and sent 70 payment instructions involving $950 million to the Fed.

“We haven’t yet got evidence or proofs that BB officials have made those instructions.”

The Fed outright rejected the payment instructions for 35 orders because intermediary banks were not at the recipients’ ends.

Of the remaining 35, the Fed became suspicious and sought explanations from the BB about 12 payment instructions.

“But they should have known that it was already Friday in Bangladesh, and the Bangladesh Bank wouldn’t be able to give explanations,” said Farashuddin.

The Fed was suspicious about the 12 payment instructions and sought explanation from the BB, but didn’t get it. Still, the Fed carried out five payment orders.

“Why did they make payment? Why didn’t they issue the ‘stop payment’ order or recall the fund if they had felt it was suspicious?”

The Fed should have smelt a rat as it sent messages to the BB but didn’t receive any responses, he said.

Of the five payment orders, the beneficiaries of the four were individuals. Historically, BB’s payment instructions involving large amount are institutional. In case of individuals, the amount is small, said Farashuddin.

Farashuddin the hackers had made attempts to steal $950 million. Of them, advices worth $101 million were sent.

BB got back $20 million because of misspelling of the beneficiary organisation in Sri Lanka. Now, the amount of the missing money stood at $81.16 million.

He said the malware was created either in Pakistan or North Korea.

“We have got evidence that this malware was created to hack the BB’s reserves.”

Talking about the responsibility of the BB, he said the decision to establish connection between the SWIFT platform and the RTGS was inconsiderate.

“It should not have been done.”

BB’s officials were unskilled, negligent and careless about the issue, he said.

“We have no doubt about it. However, we have not received proof yet that they were part of the theft. We are trying to find it out.”

The Farashuddin-led probe body has tasked three professors from Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (Buet) to find out whether anybody from the BB was involved with the scam.

Yesterday, the three-member team submitted an interim report to the probe committee.

The probe body is collecting information about two BB officials, said Farashuddin.

“However, the information we have received so far indicate that they were not a party to the crime.”

About the recovery of the stolen funds, he said the government and other departments concerned would work jointly to retrieve the money.

Quoting the Filipino-based Inquirer media outlet, which broke the news, Farashuddin said Philippine’s casino junket operator Kim Wong is believed to have been holding $35 million and remittance company Philrem $17 million.

“It is possible to recover more than $50 million.”

He said diplomatic strategies and legal tools have to be used to recover the stolen money, he said.

“We have to take assistance from the Fed. We have learnt that they are ready to help.”

Last week, the Fed, the BB and SWIFT vowed to work together to trace the stolen $81 million, following their first-ever joint meeting in Basel, Switzerland.

Farashuddin said Bangladesh should try to convince the Fed to put pressure on the three US-based intermediary banks that channelled the $81 to the Philippines.

The Fed could also pressurise Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation as it has a branch in Los Angeles.

“If we file lawsuits and work jointly, we will perhaps be able to recover the majority of the missing money.”

He said it was not right on the part of the BB to have kept the government in the dark about the theft.



Ershad is relaxed after making 'best decision' in politics

HM Ershad seems to be patting himself on the back after appointing his brother GM Quader as Co-chairman and Ruhul Amin Howlader as Secretary General of Jatiya Party.

“I did not know that one announcement could cause so much excitement within the party,” said the chairman at a programme in Dhaka on Thursday.

“This might just be the best decision I took in my entire political career.”

“I had been in so much pain. There was no peace of mind… or smiles. I would be worried all the time, what would happen to Jatiya Party… my child when I’m gone.”

“But now I’m relaxed, my child will survive. I will live because of this one decision.”

Ershad was addressing a reception for the newly appointed Quader, his successor, and Howlader at a restaurant in Gulshan.

Criticising former secretary general Ziauddin Ahmed Bablu, he said, “Ruhul Amin was secretary general for 14 years. But he didn’t say a word when I had removed him from the post.”

“That is loyalty… that is love. I made someone else secretary general in his place who shoved me out of my party after I made my brother (GM Quader) co-chairman. Is that even possible?”

The supporters were heard chanting, “No… no… no… Bablu is a traitor … traitor.”

“But I’m forgetting all of this from today, I’ll listen to my brother from now on,” said Ershad as he resumed.



Four policemen withdrawn from duty over death of tea-seller

Four policemen have been withdrawn from duty over the death of a tea-seller from burns after police allegedly attacked him, causing an oil spill from a stove, in Dhaka’s Shah Ali area.

Jasim Uddin Molla, Mirpur Division Additional Deputy Commissioner of Dhaka Metropolitan Police, said the withdrawn policemen are two sub-inspectors, an assistant sub-inspector and a constable.

The action was taken hours after the death of tea-seller Babul Matubbor.

Matubbor was rushed to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) after he was brought to Dhaka Medical College Hospital at around 1:30 am on Thursday. He died there later.

The 45-year-old had suffered 90 percent burns.

Matubbor was attacked by policemen who demanded that he give them money, his family has said.

But police claimed he was a drug dealer and had caught fire while trying to flee from a police informer.