For the past several years, Qatar-based Al Jazeera English news channel has turned into propaganda box peddling fake news and disinformation targeting Bangladesh, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, country’s law enforcement agencies and various key figures in the government. As a result, Al Jazeera network – both English and Arabic are seen by people in Bangladesh as vessels of spreading disinformation with the ulterior agenda of demonizing and defaming Bangladesh.
In February 2021, leaders of Bangladesh Federal Union of Journalists (BFUJ) demanded a ban on the transmission of Qatar-based Al Jazeera television channel in Bangladesh and protested and condemned “yellow journalism”.
The BFUJ leaders said the TV channel has always been playing a role against Bangladesh and protecting the interest of a particular anti-state quarter and engaged in tarnishing the image of the country abroad.
On February 3, Bangladesh Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen said it (Al Jazeera) has lost its credibility for airing false news. It’s very sad indeed”, adding that they heard that “Al Jazeera does it by taking money”.
Earlier, the government of Bangladesh rejected the desperate “smear campaign” instigated by extremists and their allies, working from London and elsewhere through Al Jazeera report.
The government also regretted that Al Jazeera allowed itself to become an instrument for their malicious political designs aimed at destabilizing the secular democratic government of Bangladesh with a proven track record of extraordinary socio-economic development and progress.
On February 1, 2021 Al Jazeera English channel aired a content titled ‘All The Prime Minister Men’, which was filled with lies and false information provided by a fugitive culprit named Zulkarnain Saer Sami, alias Zulkarnain Saer, alias Zulkarnain Saer Khan Sami alias Tanvir Md. Sadat, who after being deported from Hungary landed in the United Kingdom and sought asylum. Subsequently ISPR issued a statement February 16, 2021 titled “False and fabricated report against Bangladesh Army by Al-Jazeera”.
In March 2023, Zulkarnain Saer, who proclaims to be a “researcher” with Al Jazeera attempted to extort 50 million takas from a fugitive cop killer named Arav Khan by proclaiming as a “journalist of Al Jazeera”.
On March 17, 2023, Zulkarnain Saer in a post has published his telephonic conversation with the fugitive cop killer Arav Khan, an alias of Rabiul Islam, Rabiul, Apan, Sohag, Redoy and Hride. In this post, Zulkarnain Sami is heard of claiming to be member of Al Jazeera’s Investigative Team, reporter of Israeli newspaper Haaretz and the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP). He also claimed himself as an “international journalist”.
On the same day, cop killer Arav Khan in a post has published his telephonic conversation with Zulkarnain Saer, where Khan accused Saer of demanding BDT 50 million from him.
It may be mentioned here that, after being expelled from Hungary on allegations of “suspicious” activities, Zulkarnain Saer Khan alias Zulkarnain Sami, alias Sami alias Tanvir Md. Sadat alias Tanvir sought asylum in Britain with false declaration and sitting in that country he has been running continuous propaganda in favor of terrorists and jihadists in Bangladesh. It may be mentioned here that, following expulsion from Hungary, this notorious criminal with past crime records sought asylum in the UK by making false claim of “a victim of political vengeance”.
According to a credible source, during his stay in Hungary Zulkarnain Saer Khan alias Zulkarnain Sami, alias Sami alias Tanvir Md. Sadat alias Tanvir was running illegal hundi (hawala) businesses under the garb of operating restaurants. He also was actively involved with transnational drug and human trafficking cartels.
Zulkarnain Saer Khan Sami alias Tanvir Md. Sadat was bearing Bangladeshi passport number EG0092902 (date of issue May 22, 2020). His birth ID number is 19830007842012539. Sami also possesses 3 more Bangladeshi passports number B1765649, BJ050260, AC5075647. His driving license number is DK-0014714L00009. His Hungarian ID card number is 000529284. His second wife’s name is Aditia Firoza Khan, Passport number BJ0520244.
Despite the fact that father’s name of Zulkarnain Saer Khan Sami alias Tanvir Md. Sadat is Mohammed Abdul Baset Khan., in his passports Sami has on-purpose changed his father’s name to “Colonel Wasit Khan” with the ulterior motive of dodging law enforcing agencies from getting hold of his criminal records.
According to information, back in 2001, Zulkarnain Saer Khan Sami alias Tanvir Md. Sadat was caught by the Military Police while entering Dhaka Cantonment wearing uniform of an army Colonel. Later he was released after giving written bond.
Prior to fleeing Bangladesh for Hungary, Zulkarnain Saer Khan Sami alias Tanvir Md. Sadat was arrested on July 21, 2006 in Bangladesh on charges of cheating local businessmen under false identity of an officer of Rapid Action Battalion (RAB). A criminal case number 43, dated 21.07.2006 was lodged against him under sections 140, 170, 171, 419, 465, 467, 469 and 472 of the Bangladesh Penal Code.
On May 20, 2022, Zulkarnain Saer Khan Sami alias Tanvir Md. Sadat established a company named ‘SAMS INC LTD’ in the United Kingdom. Company number 13411356. Proposed registered office address of this company is: Kemp House, 160 City Road, London, United Kingdom EC1V 2NX. Main reason behind establishment of ‘SAMS INC LTD’ is to shift his illegal activities, such as drug trafficking, money-laundering and maintaining connections with various terrorist outfits from Hungary to the United Kingdom.
In the statement, ISPR said, “A recent report titled “All the Prime Minister’s Men”, broadcasted on 1 February 2021 by Al-Jazeera, an international news channel, has drawn the attention of Headquarters, Bangladesh Army. The report of Al-Jazeera, in the form of a documentary, consists of numerous false and fabricated stories in respect of the Government of Bangladesh and Bangladesh Army, creating unnecessary confusion among the general mass. It is clear from the report that it has been intentionally prepared blending some untrue, fabricated, fictitious, speculative and unsupported information with some isolated incidents in order to discredit the Government of Bangladesh and the Bangladesh Army and the Chief of Army Staff of Bangladesh Army among the mass people of Bangladesh and the world…”
The main culprit who has been using Al Jazeera English as part of his personal vendetta against Bangladesh is David Bergman, a British national and self-styled investigative journalist who is a controversial and dubious figure for years for his work facing accusations of bias, distortion and also fabrication.
According to India Pacific website, [David] Bergman’s alleged propagandist tendencies have been most evident in his reporting on sensitive issues such as poverty, corruption, human rights abuses, and the caste system. His films, such as “India’s Dark Side” and “Children of the Pyre”, have painted a bleak picture of India, portraying it as a nation plagued by social injustice, rampant inequality, and deep-seated societal ills.
Bergman has strongly denied the allegations of propaganda, stating that his goal is to shed light on important social issues in India. He believes that his work can contribute to positive change in the country. He has also defended his methodology, stating that he uses rigorous journalistic standards and that his work is based on evidence.
According to media sources, David Bergman first traveled from Birmingham, England, to Bhopal in March 1986 by bicycle as a charity to raise ₤5,000 for the victims of the disaster. While there, he became entangled in a legal dispute over the government’s role in relief that The Guardian later dubbed “The Bergman Affair” (October 31, 1986).
In September 1986, when Bergman was 21 years old, he was held in custody in violation of India’s Foreigners Act and National Security Act and was accused of working for Union Carbide.
It may be mentioned here that, on December 3, 1984, following methyl isocyanate (MIC) gas released from the plant of Union Carbide in Bhopal [which also is known as Bhopal Disaster], over 500,000 people were affected.
The government of Madhya Pradesh confirmed a total of 3,787 deaths related to the gas release. It left an estimated 40,000 individuals permanently disabled, maimed, or suffering from serious illness, making it one of the world’s worst industrial disasters.
David Bergman is the son-in-law of Dr Kamal Hossain, a lawyer-cum-politician in Bangladesh having alliance with Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP). Bergman’s mother-in-law – Hameeda Akhund alias Hameeda Hossain is the daughter of a Pakistani jurist named Abdullah Shafi Mohammad Akhund. Hameeda was born in 1936 in Hyderabad, Sindh, Pakistan. Her father Abdullah Shafi was a diehard anti-Indian.
