Bangladesh court orders probe into torture claims by cartoonist

Ahmed Kabir Kishore has alleged he was tortured before police arrested him under the country’s harsh digital laws.

A court in Bangladesh has ordered a probe into claims by a formerly jailed cartoonist that he was tortured before police detained him under the country’s harsh internet laws, his lawyer said. Ahmed Kabir Kishore, 45, was arrested in May 2020 under the controversial laws and charged with carrying out anti-state activities and spreading rumours. The high-profile cartoonist was released on bail two weeks ago after a public outcry over the death in jail in February of a writer, Mushtaq Ahmed, who was arrested under the same laws.