Written by Julfikar Ali Manik and Mujib MashalA Bangladeshi writer who was detained for nearly a year over social media posts that were critical of the country’s government has died in jail, officials and family members said Friday, raising alarms about the country’s crackdown on dissent. The writer, Mushtaq Ahmed, was among 11 people charged early last year over the spread of social media content, including cartoons, that alleged mismanagement and corruption in Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s response to the pandemic. 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. Mohammad Gias Uddin, the senior superintendent of the jail where Ahmed was held, said the writer had lost consciousness Thursday evening and was taken to the prison hospital. Doctors at the prison reported that Ahmed “never complained about his health issues,” Uddin said of the writer, who was 54.

Source: Indian Express February 27, 2021 06:45 UTC