Following a recent verdict sentencing Adilur Rahman Khan of an NGO named Odhikar, former US diplomat Jon Danilowicz in a tweet has demanded cancellation of US visas of Dhaka’s Cyber Tribunal Judge Zulfiker Hayat and Public Prosecutor (PP) Nazrul Islam Shamim.
In a post on ‘X’ platform, Danilowicz wrote: “Here are the names of the individuals involved in this action that undermines #Bangladesh’s democratic election process: Judge Zulfiker Hayat and Prosecutor Nazrul Islam Shamim. The U.S. should cancel their visas”.
Commenting on this post, Tasneem Khalil, editor of Sweden-based website ‘Netra News’ wrote, “US should impose GLOMAG sanctions like it did on Kara-Murza case. Mere visa restrictions will not cut it”.
In response to Tasneem Khalil’s comment, Jon Danilowicz wrote: “It’s not mutually exclusive. I’m not an expert on sanctions, but my guess is that implementing the visa policy can be done most quickly. Other actions can and should follow but may take more time. Also, like-minded nations should follow suit”.
BNP chairperson and convicted prisoner Khaleda Zia’s deputy press secretary Maruf Kamal Khan wrote, “It seems to me, it is very realistic suggestion”.
According to an article published in Blitz, Adilur Rahman Khan, an activist of Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) was appointed as the Deputy Attorney General by the BNP-Jamaat coalition government in October 2001 and he has served in the position until 2007.
Jon Danilowicz has been working as a lobbyist for Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), an ultra-Islamist terrorist organization. Following publication of a couple of investigative reports exposing nefarious lobbyist activities run by Jon Danilowicz and his Islamist cohorts in favor of BNP, a desperate Jon and the gang of Islamist cyber terrorists have resorted to smear propaganda targeting Blitz, a newspaper that has been well-respected by millions of people throughout the world, including key figures in the United States and the West as the most influential newspaper in the Muslim world for this unbiased editorial policy and hard-hitting reports exposing notoriety of Islamists, jihadists, terrorists and religious bigots.
Being driven totally mad at Blitz a shattered Jon Danilowicz in a recent tweet said, “Again, check your facts. I am as Catholic as the Pope. And if you think Weekly Blitz [name of this newspaper is not Weekly Blitz. It is Blitz] and NYT are on par, I probably can’t help you. Bangladesh Zindabad”.
A desperate Jon Danilowicz who openly pronounces “Bangladesh Zindabad” the official slogan of BNP even went further by falsely accusing Blitz of running “ad hominem attacks”, although he does not have the moral courage of refuting any of the allegations that Blitz has already published.
It may be mentioned here that, Jon Danilowicz, a former Deputy Chief of Mission at the US Embassy in Bangladesh has become a propagandist in favor of Islamists and jihadists in Bangladesh by joining a vicious group named ‘Right to Freedom’, which is jointly funded by Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and Jamaat-e-Islami (JeI). Within the diplomatic and media circle in Bangladesh, Jon Danilowicz was known as an influential diplomat who made frantic bids in sabotaging the January 5, 2014 general elections in Bangladesh and plant an unelected coalition government of several members of the civil society, including a controversial editor of an English daily as well as members of Bangladesh Nationalist Party and Jamaat-e-Islami. He also made frantic bids in saving war criminals from being prosecuted.
As Jon Danilowicz failed to unseat Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s government by sabotaging the election, then Secretary of State Hillary Clinton turned furious at him. As a result, he was abruptly withdrawn from Dhaka and transferred to Islamabad as Consulate General – just within 17 months of his stay in Bangladesh. In his previous two postings in Bangladesh, Jon Danilowicz completed three years of the tenures – each time. Meaning, totally he has served at the US Embassy in Bangladesh for a total period of 89 months.
According to the description of Jon Danilowicz on his LinkedIn profile: “Thirty two years of reporting on and analyzing global political developments, managing justice sector assistance programs, and providing leadership in some of our most challenging diplomatic posts. Currently seeking to draw upon these international experiences to promote domestic political and economic development. Looking to leverage my background as a teacher, mentor, strategic thinker and practitioner to link the global with the local in my native New England”.
Blitz report said, although for the last many years, although former US diplomats William B Milam and Jon Danilowicz have been working as lobbyists for ultra-Islamist Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) along with few more individuals in the United States, none of them have registered themselves as lobbyists thus violating the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA).
The US Department of Justice says, “penalty for a willful violation of FARA is imprisonment for not more than five years, a fine of up to US$250,000, or both. Certain violations are considered misdemeanors, with penalties of imprisonment of not more than six months, a fine of not more than US$5,000, or both”.
According to law firm Burnham & Gorokhov, “Violation of FARA can carry criminal penalties. Under 18 U.S.C. § 618 violation of FARA can be either a felony carrying up to five years in prison or a misdemeanor carrying up to six months, depending on which particular provision of FARA is violated. Violation of the act can also result in civil penalties or, in the case of non-citizens, deportation from the United States”.
