United News of Bangladesh

The interim government has ordered an urgent investigation into the death of Touhidul Islam, Chief Adviser's Deputy Press Secretary Abul Kalam Azad Majumder said on Saturday. Police took Touhidul to a hospital in Cumilla late Friday night with injuries allegedly caused by security forces after they arrested him from his house early on Friday morning based on complaints. The interim government, led by Prof Muhammad Yunus, absolutely condemns any form of custodial torture and murder, Azad said in a statement on behalf of the CA's press wing. Upholding human rights in every sphere of national life is a core mission of this government, which includes some of the top rights activists in the country. The government has set up several commissions to reform the country's criminal justice system. HRW hands over report to Dr Yunus, says Hasina "directly ordered" enforced disappearances, killings Most of these commissions have submitted their reports. "The interim government will hold meaningful dialogue with the political parties over these reports in an effort to eradicate every opportunity for human rights abuses in police interrogation, crime management, and judicial procedure," Azad said. The interim government is committed to implementing these reforms, he said.

The Indian Express report titled “Minorities targeted, bid to rewrite history, take revenge for 1971 events" on Friday is misleading and is part of a well-organised propaganda campaign run by Indian media, said Chief Adviser's press wing. The newspaper projected the arrest of three Awami League MPs as attacks on minorities using the crime suspects’ religious identity, CA's press wing said through its fact-checking Facebook page. Referring to Awami League leaders, Indian Express reported that there were around 2,000 incidents of arson, looting, and burning involving the minorities (Hindus, Buddhists, and Christians) between August 5 and August 20, 2024, and "scattered attacks" were still taking place every day. CA's Press Wing quashes rumours of ISI chief visiting Dhaka A police report on January 11 has revealed that most attacks on minorities since August 4, 2024, were politically motivated. The Bangladesh Hindu Buddhist Christian Unity Council has claimed that there has been a total of 1,769 incidents of communal attacks and vandalism against minorities in Bangladesh. Bangladesh Police has collected a list of complaints prepared by the council. The police have contacted the relevant individuals and authorities from minority communities who are alleged to have been targeted in this violence. The police investigated every place, institution, and individual according to the Council's list. Police investigations revealed that 1,234 incidents were politically motivated and 20 were communal. At least 161 allegations were found to be false. Appropriate legal action was taken where the reported communal attacks took place. Quoting a Hasina follower, Indian Express reported that there is an attempt to rewrite history and take revenge for the historic events of 1971, undermining the Interim Government’s endeavour to correct historical facts distorted by the fallen dictator during her 16 years of misrule.

The decision to restrict journalists' access to the Secretariat was taken in view of the safety and security of the Key Point Installation (KPI), which was hit by a devastating fire this week, said the interim government on Saturday. "The government regrets the inconvenience and seeks cooperation from journalists," Chief Adviser's Deputy Press Secretary Abul Kalam Azad Majumder said in a statement. The government will soon review the existing press accreditation cards and invite fresh applications from all the local and international news outlets for the Press Information Department to issue new accreditation cards, he said. Azad said temporary daily access cards will be issued by respective ministries for any press events. Temporary Secretariat entry passes cancelled due to security concerns Meanwhile, Chief Adviser's Senior Assistant Press Release Foyez Ahammad urged the professional journalists not to get worried, saying the leaders and activists of Chhatra League-Jubo League-Awami League are holding hundreds of accreditation cards like the professional journalists hold. "Dear professional journalist friends, don't worry," he said in a Facebook post. Foyez claimed that the Awami League regime harassed professional journalists by not issuing them accreditation cards and by canceling cards, but issued hundreds of cards in the names of their leaders and activists in favour of various fake news portals/newspapers. "It is very difficult to verify these cards one by one. Again, there is no other option but to take immediate action in the recent fire incident at  the Secretariat," he said. Foyez said professional journalists will get new accreditation cards based on the needs of their organisations very soon. However, journalism will definitely not stop, even the entry of journalists into the Secretariat will not remain halted, he said, adding that journalists will be able to enter with temporary passes from the ministry concerend.

There have been no arrests or crackdowns on the supporters of US president-elect Donald Trump in Bangladesh, said Chief Adviser's press wing on Sunday night. Some Indian newspapers have been "aggressively spreading misinformation" about the student-led mass uprising since former Prime Sheikh Hasina was ousted in a popular revolution in August, said the press wing through its fact-checking Facebook page. 'They have hugely exaggerated the violence against minorities during the post-revolution days. They just repeated the same canards over today's arrest of AL supporters," the message reads. Dozens of activists of the Awami League party, whose leadership, officials, and members have been accused of mass murders, corruption, and laundering of tens of billions of dollars, were arrested in the country on Sunday on charges of planning subversive activities in the capital, Dhaka, said the press wing. The Dhaka Metropolitan Police has issued a statement to this effect. "Some of these people were carrying Donald Trump's photos after the fugitive AL leader, Sheikh Hasina, reportedly ordered her supporters to carry his portrait and use them as a shield against arrests," said the press wing. "They told police they didn't follow US politics and only carried Trump posters at the order of Hasina," the press wing claimed. It may be mentioned that some sections of the Indian media, notably India Today, reported yesterday's events in Bangladesh in a completely wrong light. Read: INR survey: Bangladesh faces media credibility crisis amid disinformation surge and digital literacy gaps For example, they described the rally called for by Awami League at Gulistan's Zero Point on the occasion of Noor Hossain Day (Nov. 10), an annual event, as one called for by 'Trump supporters' to celebrate the Republican candidate's victory in the US presidential election last week. There is no record of any group identifying themselves as "Trump supporters" or celebrating his successes in the past in Bangladesh. There is also no mention of the US president-elect in any of the Awami League literature surrounding their programme on Noor Hossain Day, which in the end failed to materialise due to a lack of participants. There is however an instruction from ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina, that the CA Press Wing's statement alluded to briefly, for the AL activists attending Sunday's programme, to carry posters of Trump alongside those of Sheikh Hasina and Bangabandhu, and specifically to use the ones of Trump to shield themselves against police action. The AL activists were to take photos of these incidents and provide them to their leadership, so that they could be passed on to Trump - all with the intention, presumably, of riling the next US president into going against the interim government led by Prof. Muhammad Yunus in Bangladesh. These potentially seditious instructions were contained in a call record that leaked last week, between Hasina and one of her party workers. Although UNB has not independently verified the authenticity of the recording, the fact that many AL activists were later arrested carrying out the same instructions verifies itself. Members of the interim government had already made clear on Saturday that no AL rally or programme would be allowed to go ahead on Sunday, and the raids and arrests that followed must be seen in that light.