Bangladesh purchased Israeli-made spying tools despite having no diplomatic relations: report

According to an investigation conducted by middle-eastern news channel, Bangladesh bought Israeli-made spying tools that can be used to monitor cell phones of hundreds of people at once.

The documents and statements obtained by Al Jazeera’s Investigative Unit have revealed that the army of Bangladesh bought the equipment from Israel in 2018 using a Bangkok-based middleman.

It added that several military intelligence officers of Bangladesh army were trained in Hungary by Israeli intelligence experts.

The’ secret contract’ has shown that the documents list the country of origin for the equipment as Hungary, although secret recordings have revealed that the equipment was from Israel.

Bangladesh has no diplomatic relations with Israel and has officially refused to recognize Israel until there is an independent Palestinian state.

This recent revelation is part of the Al Jazeera investigation ‘All the Prime Minister’s Men’, which exposes the close association between a powerful Bangladeshi crime family, which the country’s head of the army belongs to, and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

“The investigation reveals that a key figure in the procurement of military equipment is Haris Ahmed, a convicted criminal and brother of the head of the Bangladesh army, Aziz Ahmed. Haris, who has now returned to Bangladesh, resettled in Hungary in 2015 using a fake passport when he was under an Interpol red notice and wanted in Bangladesh for a murder committed in 1996,” the investigative report by Al Jazeera revealed.

Haris is one of five brothers in the Ahmed family, four of whom have ties to criminal activity including murder. The fifth brother is Aziz, head of the army, who has close ties to Sheikh Hasina. The investigation reveals how the Ahmed family has all the tools of the state at its disposal, including the commuting of sentences, obtaining false documents and the arrest of political opponents.

Credit: Al Jazeera