Videos recorded during police and joint forces’ raids, checkpoint searches and operations at bars and residential hotels are increasingly spreading on social media, exposing the identities and personal details of those involved and raising questions over privacy, journalistic ethics and police conduct.
Several videos show people identifying themselves as journalists or YouTubers questioning individuals in the presence of army and police officers, with police personnel sometimes seen not intervening.
Lawyers and human rights activists say recording and publishing someone’s photographs or videos without consent can violate privacy, particularly when the material is used to harass, blackmail or defame them.
Police Headquarters said taking and publishing photographs or videos of anyone without permission is neither lawful nor ethical. It said action would be taken against police members who violate the law or social media policies.
Victims speak out
Several people who appeared in such videos told Dhaka Tribune that journalists and police officers recorded them, checked their vehicles and sought personal information.
They said the circulation of such footage had caused problems in their social, family and professional lives.
A bank official, speaking about a raid at a Gulshan bar, said police, members of the public and several YouTubers were recording during the operation.
Some people with valid bar licences were harassed and questioned about why they were at the venue with female companions, he said.
“This is something the police cannot do,” he said.
Dhaka Reporters Unity President Abu Saleh Akon said he was also recorded at a police checkpoint without his permission.
“I was harassed while passing through a police checkpoint. They were recording me while talking to me. I protested and asked the police officers why they were recording me and whether they had taken my permission. They apologized,” he told Dhaka Tribune.
He said some media outlets were recording and publishing footage without following journalistic standards.
“Those who are doing this are not professionals; they are view-seekers. We are working on these issues,” he said.
Police response
AHM Shahadat Hossain, assistant inspector general of the Media and Public Relations Department at Police Headquarters, told Dhaka Tribune: “We respect privacy. During searches, personal photographs and videos are kept in custody so that they do not spread.”
He said police members had been warned against becoming involved in such offences.
“If we receive such allegations against any police member, we investigate and take action,” he said.
Victims can also lodge complaints with Police Headquarters, he added.
The ISPR did not provide any statement regarding videos recorded during searches at checkpoints.
A growing pattern
The issue has emerged in a series of incidents in recent months.
Mostakim Ahmed Rahul said he and his theatre team were harassed during a rehearsal at Suhrawardy Udyan a few months ago.
Police conducted a raid and left after finding nothing, he said. Some reporters and YouTubers then livestreamed the incident.
“When we asked them to stop the livestream, they got into an argument with us. As there were several of them, we could not resist. Later, the live video spread on social media,” he said.
In the first week of August, police raided a bar in Uttara and detained more than 100 women. Footage of the raid later circulated online.
On August 13, DB police raided a residential hotel in Uttara, with videos of the operation subsequently spreading on social media.
On June 8, police detained Abdur Rahman alias Rahim, in Noakhali. Three foreign-made pistols, eight bullets and three magazines were allegedly recovered from him. A video showing police displaying the young man and the recovered firearms later went viral.
In another viral video on June 14, three young men were searched while travelling to Mugda Medical College Hospital. Several people identifying themselves as journalists questioned them, while several media outlets recorded and published footage of the incident.
Two young women were also filmed while being stopped and searched at Hatirjheel at night. People followed them while recording with cameras and mobile phones.
The women covered their faces and tried to move away.
“We did not abuse you, brother. You are recording us. We are women; there will be problems at home,” they repeatedly said.
In another widely circulated video from June 6, joint forces personnel are seen finding half a bottle of alcohol while searching a vehicle.
The man involved was not driving the vehicle. He told the joint forces personnel that he had consumed alcohol at a club and brought half a bottle with him.
A group of people then began recording him and asking various questions.
“Let them check the vehicle. Then I will talk,” he said.
He later objected to being filmed and raised the matter with joint forces officials. The video subsequently went viral.
What does the law say?
Supreme Court lawyers and human rights activists said recording and publishing someone’s image or video without their knowledge or consent can raise legal issues, particularly if it is used for harassment, blackmail or defamation.
Supreme Court senior lawyer Advocate Zainul Abedin Faruk told Dhaka Tribune that recording or using photographs and videos for blackmail or unethical purposes can attract punishment.
He said work was underway to formulate new provisions to identify, prevent and prosecute crimes committed through digital and electronic means.
Human rights activist Nur Khan Liton said publishing personal photographs and videos without permission can violate human rights.
“Even in journalism, permission must be obtained before publishing someone’s photograph. Publishing someone’s photograph or video without permission is a serious offence,” he said.
He said the increasing publication of footage from police checkpoints and raids at residential hotels and bars could amount to defamation.
The government should take stronger measures against such practices, he said, adding that anyone involved in such offences, including police personnel, should be brought under the law.