A disturbing campaign of cyber harassment and religiously charged incitement has been launched against Bangladeshi journalist Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury, editor of the Blitz news portal. Choudhury is widely known for his counterterrorism investigations and reporting on Islamist militancy across South Asia. The coordinated online assault targeting Choudhury exposes the perilous intersection of religious incitement, digital harassment and press suppression in Bangladesh.
According to credible sources, the campaign is being orchestrated by Engineer Muhammad Nasir Uddin, chairman of the ASH Foundation. This Chittagong-based organisation has faced scrutiny for alleged links to radical clerics. The coordinated effort, involving the circulation of defamatory material and impersonation through digital platforms, appears intended to incite mob violence and endanger Choudhury’s life by portraying him as an “agent of Israel” and an “enemy of Islam”.
The harassment campaign began soon after Blitz published an investigative report on July 28, 2025, titled “Terror Without Border: Rising ISI-Backed Radicalisation in Nepal”. The article detailed how Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) was expanding its influence in Nepal through extremist-linked networks.
Sources said that following the publication, Engineer Nasir Uddin, reportedly associated with controversial cleric Mufti Harun Izhar, accused of links with the Pakistan-based terror group Lashkar-e-Taiba, telephoned the journalist and used abusive language, alleging that he had been “paid by Israel” to produce the story. When advised to issue a factual rejoinder if he disputed the report, Nasir Uddin allegedly refused and instead launched a public defamation campaign.
On August 7, 2025, Nasir Uddin released a video on his verified Facebook accounts, repeatedly claiming that Choudhury had accepted Israeli funds in exchange for publishing the investigation. The video was widely circulated online and described by media observers as an attempt to provoke religious hatred and incite violence. Legal experts noted that such actions constitute serious criminal offences under Bangladesh’s cyber and penal codes.
The situation escalated further on October 23, 2025, when Nasir Uddin allegedly created a fake WhatsApp account impersonating the journalist. The account, registered under the number +8801614-883614 and bearing the display name “Shoaib”, was reportedly used to distribute the same defamatory video. Cybersecurity specialists described this as clear evidence of criminal impersonation and malicious intent.
Earlier, on August 9, 2025, Nasir Uddin convened a press conference at a restaurant in Chittagong, where he read a written statement accusing several media outlets — including Blitz, Highland Post, and The Organiser — of publishing “false and fabricated” reports about his foundation’s operations in Nepal. He branded the investigations as “conspiracies” designed to malign him and his organisation.
Soon after, Nasir Uddin filed a defamation case (Sections 500/501/506 of the Penal Code) with the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Court in Chittagong, which subsequently directed the Police Bureau of Investigation (PBI) to carry out a detailed inquiry. The court fixed November 27, 2025 as the next date of hearing. Legal observers note that by continuing to publish inflammatory material concerning a case already under judicial consideration, Nasir Uddin may have committed contempt of court and interfered with due process.
Press freedom advocates warn that this latest incident reflects a worrying pattern of intimidation and digital persecution against journalists in Bangladesh who report on radicalisation and extremist financing. The use of religiously charged accusations, branding journalists as “agents of Israel” or “enemies of Islam”, has historically had lethal consequences in the region’s volatile sociopolitical climate.
Sources close to media watchdog organisations say that the ASH Foundation, under Nasir Uddin’s leadership, has long faced questions over its associations with hardline clerics and the alleged use of religious platforms for political mobilisation. His ties with controversial figures suspected of extremist affiliations have raised serious security concerns among counterterrorism analysts.
International human rights and press freedom groups, including Human Rights Watch (HRW), Reporters Sans Frontières (RSF), and the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), have been urged to monitor the case closely. Activists have also called on the Government of Bangladesh, the US State Department, and the United Nations Human Rights Council to ensure Choudhury’s safety and to take decisive action against those responsible for threats and hate incitement.
A Broader Threat to Press Freedom
The case underscores growing fears over the shrinking space for free expression in Bangladesh, where cyber harassment, religious incitement, and legal intimidation are increasingly weaponised to suppress critical journalism. Media professionals warn that the manipulation of digital platforms to target journalists poses a direct threat not only to individual safety but also to democratic accountability itself.
Observers note that the campaign against Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury epitomises a familiar tactic used by extremist sympathisers across the region, exploiting religious sensitivities to silence dissent and divert attention from terrorism-related scrutiny.
The international community has been urged to treat this incident as a litmus test of Bangladesh’s commitment to press freedom and the rule of law. Advocates argue that protecting journalists who expose radical networks is essential not only for national security but for the integrity of global counterterrorism cooperation and the defence of truth in public life.
