Jamaat procession falsely shared as Saudi Embassy protest
A video has been circulating on X with the claim that a protest procession took place outside the Saudi Embassy in Bangladesh, demanding “justice after a newlywed Bangladeshi couple was executed in Saudi Arabia.” However, Dismislab’s fact-check found the claim to be false. The footage shows a road near the National Press Club. Jamaat-e-Islami organized the procession to protest a case filed against Jamaat leader Akhtaruzzaman.
On October 20, an X account named GFN (Global Frontline News) posted a seven-second video. The post claimed that a protest procession had taken place outside the Saudi Embassy in Bangladesh, demanding justice over the alleged killing of a newlywed Bangladeshi couple in Saudi Arabia. The video shows a procession moving forward with a banner. The banner reads, “Procession protesting the arrest of Major (Retd.) Akhtaruzzaman in a false case…” The date October 3, 2026, appears on the banner.
By the time this report was published, the video had been viewed nearly 500,000 times and reposted around 750 times.
The video was also posted by several other X accounts (1, 2).
A reverse image search using keyframes from the video led to a video posted on the Facebook page “Bd Live .com24” The opening scene of the 21-second video, published on October 3 under the headline “Why the harassment at the airport? Jamaat leaders seek answers from Prime Minister Tarique Zia,” exactly matches the participants, banner and surrounding scene in the video circulating on X.
Further verification found a video published on Jamaat-e-Islami’s official Facebook page on October 3. Published under the headline “At a glance: Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami’s protest rally and massive procession in the capital against the harassment and false case against valiant freedom fighter Major (Retd.) Akhtaruzzaman,” it also shows the same procession participants and banner seen in the circulating video.
Several news outlets reported on the event. A report published by Prothom Alo on October 3 said that Dhaka Metropolitan Jamaat organized a protest procession and rally “against the government’s arrest of valiant freedom fighter Major (Retd.) Akhtaruzzaman on flimsy grounds.” After the rally, a procession started from the north gate of Baitul Mukarram (National Mosque of Bangladesh), passed through Paltan intersection, the National Press Club and the High Court intersection, and ended in the Matsya Bhaban area.
Notably, Jamaat leader Akhtaruzzaman was arrested on October 2 over allegations of creating disorder at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka, threatening an official and obstructing government work.
In other words, a video of a Jamaat-e-Islami procession protesting a case filed against Jamaat leader Akhtaruzzaman is being circulated with the false claim that it shows a procession outside the Saudi Embassy protesting the killing of a Bangladeshi couple in Saudi Arabia.
For context, on October 14, Saudi authorities announced that two Bangladeshis had been executed over allegations of “immoral acts” at a mosque in Mecca. However, the Bangladesh mission said Saudi Arabia had not informed Bangladesh of the decision beforehand.
