Bangladesh orders Nafiz Alam, who was interviewed for a DW report, to jail in narcotics case

He was interviewed for a DW report critical of the RAB that was published recently

Nafiz Mohammad Alam, who recently gave an interview to German media outlet Deutsche Welle that criticised the Rapid Action Battalion, has been sent to jail in a narcotics case filed at Bhatara Police Station.

Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Mainul Islam scrapped Nafiz’s bail plea and ordered him to be taken to jail.

Bhatara police arrested Nafiz on Sunday night from a home he rented in Dhaka’s Bashundhara Residential Area. He was later accused in a case under the Narcotics Control Act by SI Riad Ahmed.

Police seized “26 bottles of alcohol and 32 cola cans”, which are priced at Tk 16,000, during Nafiz’s arrest, according to the case documents.

Nafiz’s Lenovo laptop, iPhone 13 Pro handset, and Hero Hunk motorcycle have also been seized.

Bhatara Police Sub-Inspector Shameem Hossain brought Nafiz to court and petitioned for him to be detained in jail.

Lawyer Mahmudul Hassan petitioned for Nafiz’s bail. After the hearing, the magistrate scrapped the bail petition, sending Nafiz to jail.

Nafiz and a friend had been arrested in a November 2021 raid by the RAB. RAB reported that he had been in possession of narcotics at the time.

Nafiz was then accused in three cases, one under the narcotics control law, a second under the pornography control law, and a third under the telecommunications control law.

Nafiz was featured in a recent article by Deutsche Welle, where he alleged that he was detained, taken to the RAB-1 offices and "tortured".

A warrant had been issued for his arrest in a case filed a few years ago, said Md Abdul Ahad, deputy commissioner of the Gulshan Division.

“He was arrested in connection with the warrant and preparations are being made to present him to a court,” he said.

The police conducted the raid at the house Nafiz rented at 7:30 pm on Sunday, according to the case documents.