Deepfake of Azhari's image, voice used to sell medicine; 10 jailed
A Dhaka court today (26 April) rejected bail and sent 10 accused to jail over creating deepfake videos using Islamic scholar Mizanur Rahman Azhari's image and voice to sell sexual stimulant drugs.
Metropolitan Magistrate Ishrat Jahan passed the order rejecting their bail petitions, confirmed Ruknuzzaman, sub-inspector of the Dhaka Metropolitan Prosecution Division.
The 10 accused are – Md Sarafat Hossain (24), Md Shafayet Hossain Shubho (21), Shadat Taufiq (21), Md Imam Hossain Bijoy (21), Md Rafiqul Hasan (21), Minhazur Rahman Shahed (19), Tauki Tajwar Elham (21), Omid Hasan (21), Md Abdullah Fahim (21), and Md Imran (24).
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Police arrested them from Chattogram's Shershah Colony area.
The case was filed under the Cyber Security Act at Paltan Police Station in the capital.
According to the case statement, the accused collected Azhari's images and voice from social media and used AI and deepfake technology to clone them. The fake videos then promoted 'Eurocin', a sexual stimulant drug, making people believe the endorsement was real. The accused ran over 24 fake Facebook pages and websites, including 'Azhari Shop', 'Doctor Seba', and 'Halal Shop', to boost the videos.
