Armed forces medical college, College in Dhaka, Bangladesh

Bangladeshi writer Mushtaq Ahmed who was detained last year over social media posts that were critical of the country's government has died in jail, officials and family members said on Friday.According to The New York Times (NYT), Ahmed's death inside prison is raising alarms about the country's crackdown on dissent. He was among 11 people who were charged for spreading social media content, including cartoons, that alleged mismanagement and corruption in Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's response to the pandemic last year.They were charged for "posting rumors against the Father of the Nation, the war of independence."His case was brought under Bangladesh's Digital Security Act, a 2018 law that gives the Bangladeshi government wide-ranging powers to search, fine and arrest anyone who violates its vague tenets, including violating "the solidarity, financial activities, security, defense, religious values or public discipline of the country."The Asian Human Rights Commission said it had documented the arrest of 138 people last year -- journalists, students and political activists -- for criticizing Hasina's government.NYT further reported that the writer was held in the high-security Kashimpur prison and was denied bail six times. Rights orgzations demanded an investigation into his death and called for the repeal of the Digital Security Act, which also includes measures to protect against cybercrimes and attacks.Mohammad Gias Uddin, the senior superintendent of the jail where Ahmed was held, said the writer had lost consciousness on Thursday evening and was taken to the prison hospital. He was pronounced dead on arrival when prison guards later took him to a larger medical facility in the nearby city Gazipur.Doctors at the prison reported that Ahmed "never complained about his health issues," Uddin told NYT that Ahmed "used to take pills for gastric and headache."Nafeesur Rahman, Ahmed's cousin and also a physician, said he had been present during the autopsy. "I have not found any injury mark anywhere on his body," adding that he found his cousin's heart to be enlarged and that his blood pressure was very low when he lost consciousness.In one of his posts on Facebook before his arrest last May, Ahmed compared the country's health minister to a cockroach. In another, he wrote, "When a society laments the loss of an economy more than the loss of human life, it doesn't need a virus, it's already sick."( With inputs from ANI )Disclaimer: This post has been auto-published from an agency feed without any modifications to the text and has not been reviewed by an editor

Armed Forces Medical CollegeFOLLOW

Armed forces medical college, Latest News

Slamming the West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Suvendu Adhikari on Sunday said the former is not a daughter of Bengal but the aunt of infiltrators and Rohingyas. ...

The first one-day match between Bangladesh Emerging Team and Ireland A had to be abandoned after 30 overs of ... ...

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar met Bangladesh Prime Minister M Sheikh Hasina on Thursday during his official visit to Dhaka. ...

Ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's expected visit to Bangladesh, External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar will pay an official visit to Dhaka on March 4 at the invitation of his counterpart Dr A K Abdul Momen. ...

Now that the vaccination drive is in full force and COVID-19 restrictions are easing up, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to follow a busy diplomatic calendar in the coming days. ...

Dhaka, March 3 Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Tuesday approved the Revised Annual Development Programme (RADP) worth ... ...

Dhaka, March 1 Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Sunday said teachers and officials of educational institutions in ... ...

Bangladeshi writer Mushtaq Ahmed who was detained last year over social media posts that were critical of the country's government has died in jail, officials and family members said on Friday. ...