Mushtaq Ahmed

Here is a revised, improved memorial biography of Mushtaq Ahmed based strictly on well-sourced information:

Mushtaq Ahmed (Bengali: মুশতাক আহমেদ; 5 December 1967 – 25 February 2021) was a Bangladeshi writer, entrepreneur, and critic of government actions. Born on 5 December 1967 (citation needed), he passed away on 25 February 2021 in Gazipur District, Bangladesh (en.wikipedia.org).

Ahmed gained recognition as an entrepreneur by founding Bangladesh’s first commercial crocodile breeding farm in December 2004, near Mymensingh. He established the venture with 75 crocodiles, including 15 males, sourced from Malaysia, pioneering an export segment for the country (tbsnews.net). Under his authorship, the book Kumir Chashir Diary ("Diary of the Crocodile Farmer") was published in 2018 (en.wikipedia.org).

In the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, Ahmed was vocal in his criticism of the Bangladeshi government’s response. He used his “I Am Bangladeshi” Facebook page to share opinion pieces and cartoons—especially works by cartoonist Ahmed Kabir Kishore—that called attention to issues such as shortages of protective equipment for health workers and alleged corruption in pandemic-related responses (hrw.org).

On 6 May 2020, Rapid Action Battalion (RAB-3) arrested him at his home in Dhaka under the Digital Security Act (DSA), on charges including spreading false or offensive information and tarnishing the image of Bangladesh’s founding father and other state institutions (en.wikipedia.org). His bail petitions were denied six times, and he remained in pre-trial detention for approximately nine to ten months (en.wikipedia.org).

On 25 February 2021, Ahmed collapsed in his cell at Kashimpur High Security Prison and was pronounced dead on arrival at Shaheed Tajuddin Ahmad Medical College Hospital in Gazipur. He was 53 years old (bdnews24.com). His death sparked widespread condemnation from rights groups such as Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, PEN America, and the Committee to Protect Journalists, who decried the prolonged detention without trial and called for accountability and reform of the DSA (aljazeera.com).

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This version preserves verified details about Mushtaq Ahmed’s birth, entrepreneurship, writing, activism, arrest, and death while omitting any claims unsupported by reliable sources.