CA Press Wing bins propaganda articles of Turkish journalist

Chief Adviser's Press Wing has debunked the articles of Turkish journalist Uzay Bulut as Bangladesh was falsely portrayed in her write-ups.

The press wing refuted Uzay Bulut's narrative in a statement posted on its verified Facebook page - CA Press Wing Facts - on yesterday (20 June).

Following is the full text of the press wing's statement:

Why Uzay Bulut's narrative on Bangladesh is false and problematic

Turkish Islamophobic journalist Uzay Bulut has recently published a series of articles falsely portraying Bangladesh as descending into radicalism under its interim government.

Her claims, which appear in The European Conservative, The Front Page, and Gatestone Institute, are not only misleading but also dangerously misrepresentative of the actual situation in Bangladesh.

On 15 June 2025, Uzay Bulut penned an insensible propaganda article 'The Talibanization of Bangladesh' for The European Conservative. She almost wrote the same article under the same headline for The Front Page on 27 February 2025.

In her false propaganda story, Uzay Bulut claimed that Bangladesh's New Regime (Interim Government) have raised fears of Talibanisation. She argues that the 2024 uprising, rather than being a democratic movement, was overtaken by Islamists and supported by the US, with Yunus installed as a result.

According to her, this ushered in widespread targeting of minorities and secular groups, including alleged incidents like the death of Hindu leader Bhabesh Chandra Roy. Citing disputed sources like the BHBCUC and RRAG, she claims thousands of attacks took place and warns that the regime's actions are fueling Islamic extremism with potential global repercussions.

However, such claims are false and problematic.

Bulut alleges that Bangladesh's 2024 mass uprising was "hijacked by Islamists" and that the US backed Muhammad Yunus's appointment as head of the interim government. This narrative is not only baseless but also eerily similar to propaganda pushed by the ousted Awami League regime.

The movement that toppled Sheikh Hasina's authoritarian government was a broad-based, and democratic uprising involving students, teachers, activists, cultural figures, and ordinary citizens-including minorities.

No radical extremists led the mass uprising and there are no convincing evidence that supports such serious claims. However, the Biden administration did not install Yunus as the head of the interim government rather it was leaders of the movement who invited Yunus to take charge of the movement and all major political parties welcomed the move.

Bulut's most inflammatory claim is that the interim government has systematically targeted minorities, citing the alleged abduction and murder of Hindu leader Bhabesh Chandra Roy on 18 April 2025.

While sporadic incidents occurred during post-uprising unrest, evidence shows Roy's death was neither communal nor state-sponsored.

However, investigations on Roy's death reveal a different story.

Bangladesh's English newspaper Daily Star published the story claiming Roy was beaten to death after abduction, drawing attention to both local and international readers.

However after examination, the news daily retracted the news after further investigation and confirmation that Roy died of natural causes. The initial report lacked sufficient evidence and was based on family allegations of foul play, which were not substantiated by police investigation, according to The Daily Star.

The police inquest found no injuries on Roy's body, and an Investigation by media outlet The Business Standard suggested the death was not a murder but possibly linked to financial stress and health issues.

The family never claimed he was beaten to death, though his wife believed the death was abnormal. The newspaper's detailed report showed that Roy, a former landowner who had fallen on hard times financially, was in apparent good health just hours before his passing.

Eyewitness accounts describe him having tea at a local shop before visiting a nearby betel leaf stand, where he suddenly became dizzy and needed medical attention. Local doctors checked his blood pressure on two separate occasions, both times recommending immediate hospitalisation. His son arranged for an ambulance, but Roy was pronounced dead upon arrival at Dinajpur Medical College Hospital after doctors performed an ECG. Medical examinations found no signs of physical assault.

The incident drew unwarranted international attention when India's MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal falsely characterised it as evidence of "systematic persecution."

Bangladesh's interim government promptly rejected this misrepresentation, reaffirming its commitment to protecting all citizens regardless of religion.

Uzay Bulut's article relies on disputed reports from the Bangladesh Hindu Buddhist Christian Unity Council (BHBCUC) and the Rights and Risks Analysis Group (RRAG) that significantly exaggerate incidents of religious violence.

The BHBCUC claimed 2,010 attacks on minorities occurred between 4-10 August 2024, including 915 homes and 953 businesses vandalised, along with four cases of sexual assault. They further alleged 174 additional attacks through December 2024. However, official investigations reveal a starkly different reality.

A comprehensive police review found that of the 1,769 reported incidents, only 20 showed any communal motivation. The vast majority-1,234 cases-were politically motivated, while 161 claims were entirely false. Authorities registered just 62 cases from these allegations and made 35 arrests.

The Bangladesh's government labeled such claims as 'exaggerated' and politically motivated. Several fact checking media outlets and news media debunks many cases as false.

Fact-checking by BanglaFact and the Press Institute Bangladesh (PIB) examined specific BHBCUC claims, including the allegation that 11 minority deaths occurred in January-February 2025 due to religious violence.

Their investigation found no evidence of communal motivation in any of these cases. Three deaths resulted from personal enmities, six were linked to robberies or theft, one was a kidnapping, and one remained undetermined. Notably, none of the victims' families alleged religious persecution.

Further scrutiny of individual cases demonstrates how incidents have been mischaracterized. In Dhaka, the murder of Notre Dame College staff member Lipika Gomes was reported as a burglary, not a religious attack, after thieves struck her when she awoke during the crime (New Age, 10 September 2024).

In Chattogram, a fatal altercation stemmed from a property dispute, with police confirming no religious animosity (Prothom Alo, 22 September 2024).

Similarly, in Gaibandha, the killing of Sabita Rani arose from a business conflict at a poultry farm, with authorities categorising it as economically motivated (Dhaka Tribune, 25 September 2024).

Chief Adviser's Press Secretary Shafiqul Alam dismissed the BHBCUC's claims as "false," noting that their report of 23 communal deaths actually included seven theft-related cases, four family disputes, three general crimes, two accidents, two business conflicts, one land dispute, one suicide, and one undetermined case-along with one delayed fatality from a prior injury.

Police have arrested 47 suspects in connection with these incidents, 17 of whom have given confessional statements in court.

The interim government mentioned that these findings disprove narratives of systematic religious persecution, reaffirming its commitment to protecting all citizens regardless of faith.

In her article, Uzay Bulut however cited the PRAG report.

The New Delhi-based Rights and Risks Analysis Group (RRAG) has been actively promoting a false narrative about political violence in Bangladesh under the interim government.

In a June 2025 report, RRAG alleged that 123 Awami League members were systematically targeted between August 2024 and April 2025. However, detailed investigations reveal these claims to be grossly misleading, with most cases involving personal disputes or criminal motives rather than political persecution.

For instance, RRAG portrayed the Nachol double murder in December 2024 as a political killing, when in reality, the victims' family confirmed it was a local feud unrelated to politics. Similarly, the murder of Arina Begum, which RRAG attributed to her son's political affiliation, was actually a domestic case with her husband as the prime suspect.

This is not the first time RRAG has spread misinformation. In May 2025, they exaggerated claims about journalist persecution, and earlier, they inflated casualty figures in the Chittagong Hill Tracts conflict. Such distortions follow a clear pattern of pushing an anti-Bangladesh narrative that favours the ousted Awami League.

Uzay Bulut's reporting on Bangladesh consistently distorts reality through selective sourcing and ideological bias.

Her work, repeatedly discredited including by The Armenian Weekly in 2017, recycles debunked claims while ignoring local perspectives. This pattern of Islamophobic framing, published by outlets like Gatestone Institute, substitutes propaganda for journalism, obscuring Bangladesh's complex realities with predetermined narratives.