Zyma Islam

A law that gagged

Some made a differing comment, some drew a political cartoon and some made a joke online – and they all ended up in jail, in some cases for months. This is how the Digital Security Act (DSA) and later the Cyber Security Act (CSA) were used to gag freedom of expression and freedom of the press.

3w ago

Kazi brothers’ capital abroad without BB nod

Financial statements of former MP Kazi Nabil Ahmed and his brothers’ famed British tea enterprise offer a rare glance into how powerful people in Bangladesh take their money to the UK via Asia’s business hubs.

1m ago

July 36, 2024

Eye-witnesses would describe that as early as mid-day the police were shooting at protesters breaking curfew and trying to go to Shahbagh. When Hasina fell and Gono Bhaban was taken over, the protesters turned on the police. The police were armed—the protesters were not. Even though the government had fallen, they trooped out and shot everyone in sight.

1m ago

S Alam’s tax file shows no foreign income

S Alam Group owner Mohammed Saiful Alam’s 2022-2023 tax file is a puzzle. In that tax year, he declared personal assets worth Tk 2,532 crore, but did not show any personal bank loans from Bangladesh or his foreign income.

2m ago

How Hasina’s flight was kept off radar

When the air force transporter plane carrying Sheikh Hasina left Dhaka on August 5, it took off as a training flight and turned off its transponders to blur its flightpath and location..The transponders, which transmit location, heading

2m ago

How UCB’s Ronny acquired so much offshore assets

As Saifuzzaman Chowdhury Javed’s grip over United Commercial Bank (UCB) created a trail of disguised loans with abuse of political influence after he became a minister in 2019 back home, his brother Anisuzzaman Chowdhury Ronny’s assets saw a meteoric rise in the UK.

3m ago

Int’l day of the victims of enforced disappearances: Victim pinpoints DGFI detention centre

If there is one thing that differentiates the arbitrary detention of HM Rana from the other victims of enforced disappearance, it is that he knows exactly where he was inside the Dhaka Cantonment.

3m ago

Revocation of red passports: A new reality for Hasina in India

After the interim government revoked all diplomatic passports yesterday, questions have now arisen as to how long Sheikh Hasina can stay in India and whether she faces a possible extradition.

3m ago
November 8, 2024
November 8, 2024

A law that gagged

Some made a differing comment, some drew a political cartoon and some made a joke online – and they all ended up in jail, in some cases for months. This is how the Digital Security Act (DSA) and later the Cyber Security Act (CSA) were used to gag freedom of expression and freedom of the press.

October 10, 2024
October 10, 2024

Kazi brothers’ capital abroad without BB nod

Financial statements of former MP Kazi Nabil Ahmed and his brothers’ famed British tea enterprise offer a rare glance into how powerful people in Bangladesh take their money to the UK via Asia’s business hubs.

October 6, 2024
October 6, 2024

July 36, 2024

Eye-witnesses would describe that as early as mid-day the police were shooting at protesters breaking curfew and trying to go to Shahbagh. When Hasina fell and Gono Bhaban was taken over, the protesters turned on the police. The police were armed—the protesters were not. Even though the government had fallen, they trooped out and shot everyone in sight.

September 29, 2024
September 29, 2024

S Alam’s tax file shows no foreign income

S Alam Group owner Mohammed Saiful Alam’s 2022-2023 tax file is a puzzle. In that tax year, he declared personal assets worth Tk 2,532 crore, but did not show any personal bank loans from Bangladesh or his foreign income.

September 14, 2024
September 14, 2024

How Hasina’s flight was kept off radar

When the air force transporter plane carrying Sheikh Hasina left Dhaka on August 5, it took off as a training flight and turned off its transponders to blur its flightpath and location..The transponders, which transmit location, heading

August 31, 2024
August 31, 2024

How UCB’s Ronny acquired so much offshore assets

As Saifuzzaman Chowdhury Javed’s grip over United Commercial Bank (UCB) created a trail of disguised loans with abuse of political influence after he became a minister in 2019 back home, his brother Anisuzzaman Chowdhury Ronny’s assets saw a meteoric rise in the UK.

August 30, 2024
August 30, 2024

Int’l day of the victims of enforced disappearances: Victim pinpoints DGFI detention centre

If there is one thing that differentiates the arbitrary detention of HM Rana from the other victims of enforced disappearance, it is that he knows exactly where he was inside the Dhaka Cantonment.

August 23, 2024
August 23, 2024

Revocation of red passports: A new reality for Hasina in India

After the interim government revoked all diplomatic passports yesterday, questions have now arisen as to how long Sheikh Hasina can stay in India and whether she faces a possible extradition.

August 14, 2024
August 14, 2024

Malaysia-bound flights: Biman syndicate hiked ticket prices

The civil aviation ministry has found several Biman officials, including high-ups, fully responsible for the syndicate that artificially hiked the prices of flight tickets to Malaysia in May this year.

July 7, 2024
July 7, 2024

Matiur thrived on insider trading

Former NBR official Md Matiur Rahman, who became a subject of controversy thanks to a high-profile sacrificial goat, has made much of his wealth by minting pre-public shares, an analysis of his and his family’s shareholding in at least 15 publicly listed companies show.