US Embassy condemns ‘attack’ on fake Al Jazeera journalist

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US Embassy in Dhaka has issued a statement condemning an alleged attack on brother of a self-proclaimed journalist of Al Jazeera. According to media reports, Zulkarnain Saer (Sami), an individual with series of past crime records has been proclaiming as a journalist of Al Jazeera and member of its i-Unit. He also proclaims to be affiliated with Israeli newspaper Haaretz and the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP). We have contacted Al Jazeera, Haaretz, and OCCRP asking if Zulkarnain Saer (Sami) is either their reporter or affiliated with them. None of these organizations have responded to our inquiry, though it was confirmed that ZUlkarnain Saer (Sami) is connected with a Facebook page and YouTube channel named ‘Nagorik TV’ which is accused of extortion, blackmailing and numerous forms of criminal activities. ‘Nagorik TV’ is also accused as extortion machine of Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) leader Tarique Rahman.

The news about alleged attack on brother of self-proclaimed journalist Zulkarnain Saer (Sami) was reported by Dhaka-based daily New Age, stating:

The family of an entrepreneur in Dhaka on Thursday alleged that he was beaten by some unidentified persons with iron rod in front of his rented house in the capital’s Mirpur last week.

The victim, Mahinur Ahmed Khan, 37, came under attack at about 8:00pm on Friday when he went out to buy some essential items from a shop opposite his house, his wife Rubyda Rakhee said.

‘He was so badly beaten that his ligament was torn…we moved him to Kurmitola General Hospital,’ Rakhee said.

She said that after taking medication, they went to the Mirpur police and filed a written complaint about the matter.

Shahin Alam, a sub-inspector at the Mirpur police station, said that no case was registered with the station but he visited the spot based on the complaint.

He said that they were to identify the suspects.

Assaulted entrepreneur Mahinur is the brother of Zulkarnain Saer Khan Sami, a UK-based journalist, who works for Qatar-based news channel Al Jazeera’s I-Unit.

On March 24, 2023, in a statement, Bryan Schiller, acting US Embassy spokesperson said:

“The US Embassy is aware of reports that Mahinur Ahmed Khan, brother of UK-based journalist Zulkarnain Saer Khan Sami, was attacked in front of his home in Mirpur last week. We wish Mr. Khan a speedy recovery, and we hope the case is thoroughly investigated and the perpetrators brought to justice”.

Zulkarnain Saer (Sami) has also published Bryan Schiller’s statement on his Facebook on March 24, 2023 stating:

Last March 17, 2023, at 7 pm, 4 miscreants fatally injured my younger brother Mahinoor by beating him with a rod in front of his house in West Sheorapara.

Mahinoor went out to buy some essentials from the grocery store below his house. The distance from the grocery to the gate of his house is less than 10 meters. The terrorists who had arrived earlier surrounded my brother from all sides and blocked the road and brutally beat him.

While beating, they [attackers] made video of this incident and said: Your brother wrote about the Prime Minister? Talk about the government? Journalist! Look now! …

It may be mentioned here that Zulkarnain Saer has been using his Facebook posts in blackmailing various individuals by proclaiming as an “international journalist” working for Al Jazeera, Haaretz and the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP). He has also published series of posts with outrageously false and derogatory remarks about Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury, internationally acclaimed multi-award-winning anti-militancy journalist and editor of Blitz.

It may be further mentioned here that, after being expelled from Hungary, Zulkarnair Saer went to Britain and sought asylum with false pretenses.

It is also learnt that Sami has been publishing secret and sensitive documents of various intelligence agencies and government offices in Bangladesh on his Facebook ID. Zulkarnain Saer is also been notoriously anti-Hindu and anti-India.

Statements from Al Jazeera and OCCRP regarding Zulkarnain Saer:

In a report dated March 24, 2023 Al Jazeera said: “Zulkarnain Saer Khan was part of Al Jazeera’s investigation”, proving he is neither affiliated with the Qatari broadcast network nor is a journalist of Al Jazeera. In another report, OCCRP said Zulkarnain Saer Khan (Sami) is “OCCRP-affiliated journalist”, meaning he is affiliated with the organization but neither a journalist nor a member of OCCRP. Despite this, several Bangladeshi newspapers have termed Sami as a journalist of Al Jazeera, as Sami has been consistently claiming as a reporter and member of Al Jazeera’s i-unit.

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