On February 1, Qatar-based international news channel Al Jazeera released a documentary in whch it alleged that Bangladesh’s army chief Gen...
On February 1, Qatar-based international news channel Al Jazeera released a documentary in whch it alleged that Bangladesh’s army chief General Aziz Ahmed had been offering aid to his fugitive brothers, who had been convicted for murdering their uncle. The documentary titled All the Prime Minister’s Men alleged that Ahmed helped his brothers obtain fraudulent passports and run illegal businesses abroad, with the tacit approval of the country’s Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
The investigative documentary, which is a product of two years of work, is based on information from a whistle-blower named Sami. A sting operation on one of Ahmed’s brothers – Haris Ahmed, who has been living under the forged identity in Hungary of Mohammad Hasan – also alleged that Haris Ahmed had functioned as a middleman, amassing bribes in exchange for using his connections with government officials in Bangladesh.
The investigation indicated that the Ahmed brothers have been selling off jobs in Bangladesh’s police forces for hundreds of thousands of dollars “in collusion with senior officers”. The Al Jazeera documentary alleged that the country’s home minister, the inspector general and the police commissioner had helped coordinate bribe payments.
Creating a storm
As soon as it was released, the hour-long investigative documentary created a storm in Bangladesh. Millions of people...
