''All the Prime Minister's Men'' is a 2021 English investigative documentary on

Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...

published by the

Qatar Qatar (, ; ar, قطر, Qaṭar ; local vernacular pronunciation: ), officially the State of Qatar,) is a country in Western Asia. It occupies the Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it sh ...

-based international media

Al Jazeera Al Jazeera ( ar, الجزيرة, translit-std=DIN, translit=al-jazīrah, , "The Island") is a state-owned Arabic-language international radio and TV broadcaster of Qatar. It is based in Doha and operated by the media conglomerate Al Jazeera ...

, alleging corruption against powerful political and military figures in Bangladesh. The documentary focuses on the past and present activities of the former Chief of Army Staff of the

Bangladesh Army The Bangladesh Army is the land warfare branch and the largest component of the Bangladesh Armed Forces. The primary mission of the Army is to provide necessary forces and capabilities to deliver the Bangladeshi government's security and def ...

General Aziz Ahmed's family members and alleges various forms of corruption.

Description

Army Chief Bangladesh General Aziz Ahmed SBP, BSP, BGBM, PBGM, BGBMS, psc, G

The documentary follows General Aziz Ahmed (who served as Chief of Staff of the Bangladesh Army from June 2018 till June 2021) and his three brothers' activities. Aziz's three brothers were convicted in 2004 of a murder. Among the brothers, Anis Ahmed and Haris Ahmed are currently on the run. A third brother, Tofail Ahmed Joseph, was released from prison with a presidential pardon. Although the two brothers are on the run, the documentary shows marrying Aziz Ahmed's son in

. Here Anis Ahmed is shown in

Kuala Lumpur , anthem = '' Maju dan Sejahtera'' , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Malaysia#Southeast Asia#Asia , pushpin_map_caption = , coordinates = , su ...

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...

and Haris Ahmed in

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...

's capital

Budapest Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...

. Harris Ahmed's business activities in Budapest were investigated through secret recordings. He changed his name to Hasan Mohammad and set up several businesses in different countries. In a conversation with a Bangladeshi businessman in Budapest, he is seen talking about supplying bullets to the Bangladesh Army. He also mentioned that up to Tk 5 crore was taken to get the job of

Police The police are a constituted body of persons empowered by a state, with the aim to enforce the law, to ensure the safety, health and possessions of citizens, and to prevent crime and civil disorder. Their lawful powers include arrest and t ...

with the connivance of the top people of the government. According to the report, Aziz directly helped

Sheikh Hasina Sheikh Hasina Wazed (''née'' Sheikh Hasina ; ; bn, শেখ হাসিনা ওয়াজেদ, Shēkh Hasinā, , born 28 September 1947) is a Bangladeshi politician who has served as the Prime Minister of Bangladesh, Prime Minister ...

in the 2014's and 2018's elections by the agreement of a secret mutual contract. In a trapped secret interview by Al Jazeera, Haris said that, the chief of police Benazir Ahmed do everything according to their command. The documents also showed that security forces imported Internet and mobile phone surveillance technology from

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

. However, Haris Ahmed was not contacted for comment. In other video recordings, Azis's brother Haris boasts of profits he made from military contracts using his brother's power as army chief to extract bribes. The documentary also provided photographic evidence that in March 2019, Haris and Anis visited

Dhaka Dhaka ( or ; bn, ঢাকা, Ḍhākā, ), formerly known as Dacca, is the capital and largest city of Bangladesh, as well as the world's largest Bengali-speaking city. It is the eighth largest and sixth most densely populated city ...

for the wedding of Aziz's son, where the two fugitives partied alongside Bangladesh President

Abdul Hamid ʻAbd al-Ḥamīd (ALA-LC romanization of ar, عبد الحميد) is a Muslim male given name, and in modern usage, surname. It is built from the Arabic words '' ʻabd'' and ''al-Ḥamīd'', one of the names of God in the Qur'an, which gave rise t ...

and foreign dignitaries during an opulent ceremony.

Bangladeshi government response

The documentary has been alleged to be defamatory by the

Ministry of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is the government department responsible for the state's diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral relations affairs as well as for providing support for a country's citizens who are abroad. The entit ...

and Army Headquarters. In a statement, the foreign ministry said, In a statement, the army headquarter of Bangladesh said,

Awards

Al Jazeera won the top prize for "Best Human Rights Journalism" (investigation category) in the 8th annual

Amnesty Amnesty (from the Ancient Greek ἀμνηστία, ''amnestia'', "forgetfulness, passing over") is defined as "A pardon extended by the government to a group or class of people, usually for a political offense; the act of a sovereign power offici ...

Media award for ‘All the Prime Minister's Men’.

References

External links

* * * *
Al Jazeera Investigative Unit website
{{Sheikh Hasina 2021 films 2021 television films 2021 documentary films Sheikh Hasina Al Jazeera English original programming Documentary films about Bangladesh Political scandals in Bangladesh Bangladesh Awami League 2020s English-language films

Description

Bangladeshi government response

Awards

See also

References

External links