Nazmul Ahasan

Nazmul Ahasan is a journalist and researcher with seven years of experience in investigative journalism, long-form narrative and opinion writing, and social science research. He currently works with the Investigative Reporting Program at UC Berkeley. He is part of a cohort of reporters, editors, and data scientists working on a collaborative project on police use-of-force and misconduct cases in California under the California Reporting Project in collaboration with researchers at Stanford University.

At the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism, Ahasan pursues a Master of Journalism supported by the Berkeley Journalism Fellowship and Subir Chowdhury Fellowship on Quality of Life in Bangladesh. 

He also covers the city government for the Richmond Confidential, a hyperlocal news website operated by the graduate school.

Before moving to the SF Bay Area from Bangladesh, he covered the Rohingya refugee crisis, the Covid-19 pandemic, and the Coronavirus vaccination drives in his home country. As an independent journalist, his reportage, op-eds, or reporting contribution appeared on major news publications such as The Telegraph, The Economist, The Columbia Journalism Review, Haaretz, Devex, The Hindu, Scroll, and The Wire. As a commentator, he has been interviewed by Al Jazeera and BBC Radio Newshour, among others.

Foreign Policy •

Extrajudicial Executions: Bangladesh Draws a False Parallel with U.S.

When Haque’s daughters reached him, he was audibly distressed, but he was also trying to comfort them. “ Abbu [dad], you seem to be crying,” one of his confused daughters said. Unsettled, they alerted their mother, Ayesha Begum, who joined in subsequent calls. Haque was an elected council member in Cox’s Bazar’s Teknaf municipality, a southeastern Bangladeshi town bordering Myanmar. To the outside world, Teknaf and surrounding subdistricts in Cox’s Bazar are best known for hosting nearly a mill
Richmond Confidential •

'To a lot of us, Mayor Butt represents politics as usual': Richmond reacts to Butt's decision to leave public life

There was a time when most Richmond voters would have been disappointed by Mayor Tom Butt’s decision to make this term his last in public office. That was before they elected a slate of progressives whose majority on the City Council drowns out many of Butt’s opinions and initiatives. “To a lot of us, Mayor Butt represents politics as usual: Connected to the big businesses, protecting big developers, and against progressive taxation and social policy,” said resident Benjamin Mertz. “Richmond is
Devex •

What does the UN MoU with Bangladesh govt mean for Rohingya refugees?

The U.N. Refugee Agency signed a memorandum of understanding with the Bangladesh government last week to initiate its aid operations on Bhashan Char island, where tens of thousands of Rohingya refugees have been relocated recently. Both the United Nations and the Bangladesh government have kept the memorandum out of public view — which hinders refugees from making an informed decision on whether to relocate, experts say. John Quinley, senior human rights specialist at Fortify Rights, says the
Richmond Confidential •

Mayor Butt says he's leaving public life after term ends

Richmond Mayor Tom Butt, who has spent more than a quarter century in public office, said Thursday that he won’t run for office again after his term ends in January 2023. “No, no, I’m done,” he told Richmond Confidential, when asked about his political future. “I have no plans to run for anything anymore when my term as mayor ends.” “I have been doing this 26 years. It will be 27 by that time,” he added. “It’s a long time.” The longest continuously serving council member in Richmond’s history
The Wire •

In Bangladesh, a Secular Icon and the Centre-Right Opposition Join Hands

Dhaka: How much would you bet on a party that has been out of power for more than a decade, its chief behind bars on corruption charges and its exiled de facto leader just sentenced to life in a case over a deadly bomb blast? Not much, I assume. But, defying all odds, Bangladesh’s centre-right opposition party, Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), has just clinched a deal with Kamal Hossain, an 82-year-old secular icon, raising its hope to end the ruling Awami League’s decade-long rule. Kamal H
The Economist •

Covid-19 infections are rising fast in Bangladesh, India and Pakistan

O past week Bangladesh, India and Pakistan have largely lifted nationwide lockdowns intended to curb the spread of covid-19. The freeing of 1.7bn people—more than a fifth of humanity—from varied restrictions will bring relief to the region’s battered economies. Alas, it promises no relief from the pandemic itself. In luckier countries, stay-at-home rules reduced the number of new infections. In South Asia they managed only to moderate the disease’s acceleration, but not to halt it (see chart). T
Haaretz.com •

For Bangladesh, recognizing Israel is an immoral choice | Opinion

The recent op-ed by a Dhaka-based lawyer ("Why Bangladesh Should, Belatedly, Recognize Israel") arguing in support of the establishment of the diplomatic relations between Israel and Bangladesh, by drawing supposed similarities between the two countries’ histories, came as a bolt from the blue for many Bangladeshis. In stark contrast to the article’s claim, there are far more similarities between Bangladesh and the subject of Israel’s crude oppression, the Palestinians, rather than Israel itsel
The Telegraph •

Coronavirus exposes the deep divide in Bangladeshi society

A small crowd of health workers greeted Badar Uddin Ahmed Kamran when his helicopter landed in Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh, earlier this week. The former Mayor of the city of Sylhet and a notable member of the ruling party, was quickly whisked into a bed in the Combined Military Hospital — the country’s premier healthcare facility. Only a handful of people who catch Covid-19 in Bangladesh can expect such treatment. Just a few miles away, the least fortunate victims of the virus lie motionl
Devex •

As Bangladesh moves Rohingya to Bhasan Char, UN and aid agencies face a dilemma

COX’S BAZAR, Bangladesh — As the government of Bangladesh charges ahead with its controversial plan to relocate Rohingya refugees to Bhasan Char, a remote island in the Bay of Bengal, United Nations agencies and humanitarian organizations are facing a dilemma. While agreeing to the government's requests to offer food aid and health services on the island could legitimize a move decried by rights groups and make the plan more viable, refusing to cooperate risks leaving refugees in a worse situat
Netra News — নেত্র নিউজ •

Aggarwal speaks: How an alleged Indian bookie toppled a cricketing titan

For someone with his notoriety, it was surprisingly easy to reach out to Deepak Aggarwal, the alleged bookie who just brought down one of the most-celebrated titans of world cricket, Shakib Al Hasan. Here was a man, who according to a recent Times of India story was “known in the spot-fixing circuit”, and had been arrested in April 2017 for gambling offences. Yet, his digital footprint was everywhere on the Internet — from listed phone numbers to open domain registration records. And then there