Indian media’s false claim: Bangladesh legalizes banned groups
On August 7, the Indian news outlet Zee 24 Ghanta published a report with the headline “Bangladesh Lifts Ban on Several Militant Organizations Including JMB-HuJI.” The same claim was also reported by two other Indian media outlets (1, 2). Zee 24 Ghanta’s report stated that “…Bangladesh’s Ministry of Home Affairs made an important decision. The Ministry of Home Affairs of Bangladesh lifted the ban on several banned organizations including JMB, HuJI, Ansarullah Bangla Team, Jagrata Muslim Janata Bangladesh, Shahadat-e-Al Hikma, Hizb ut-Tahrir, and several others. However, the Ministry of Home Affairs did not comment on this matter.” Upon verification, it was found that the claim about these banned organizations being legalized is false.
On August 5, Sheikh Hasina resigned from her position as Prime Minister of Bangladesh and departed from the country. Following her resignation, the President dissolved Parliament, and on August 8, an interim government was established with Dr. Muhammad Yunus as the Chief Advisor. Given these developments, Zee 24 Ghanta’s report did not provide clarity on how such a decision have been made on August 7 regarding the lifting of bans on certain organizations.
The Zee 24 Ghanta report further claimed, “Already, 12 members of Jaish, 4 members of Lashkar-e-Taiba, 15 members of Hizb ut-Tawhid, 18 members of Ansarullah Bangla Team, 4 members of Asif Reza Commando Force, 12 members of Al Hikma, 28 members of JMB, and 22 members of HuJI have been released.”
When contacted, Additional Secretary of the Ministry of Home Affairs, A. K. M. Tipu Sultan, told Dismislab, “No such decision has been made yet.” He categorically dismissed the claim that the ban on any prohibited organizations had been lifted. He also noted that the interim government’s Home Affairs Advisor had only just started official duties on August 11, following the dissolution of Parliament.
The Zee 24 Ghanta report also claimed that the banned organization Hizb ut-Tahrir held a human chain protest in front of the Parliament building. This claim is true and has been covered by multiple Bangladeshi media outlets with accompanying photos (1, 2). Notably, after the Awami League came to power in 2009, the Ministry of Home Affairs declared Hizb ut-Tahrir a banned organization.
