A prosecution witness testified before International Crimes Tribunal-1 on Sunday that the government’s explanation for the nationwide internet shutdown in July 2024 was politically motivated, contradicting earlier claims that the disruption was caused by a data centre fire.
Emdadul Haque Mollah, director of Ultimex Communication Limited and former president of the Internet Service Providers Association, Emdadul testified against Sajeeb Wazed Joy, son of ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina and her former ICT adviser; and former ICT state minister Zunaid Ahmed Palak, in a case over alleged crimes against humanity during the July 2024 mass uprising.
He said that no fire occurred at any data centre. The blaze broke out at the Disaster Management Building in Mohakhali on July 18, 2024, he said instead
He explained that internet services faltered from 4:00pm before shutting down nationwide at 9:00pm on July 18, 2024.
To explain the technical chain, he said that ISPs are the final operator of service delivery, while upstream layers include International Internet Gateways (IIG), submarine cable companies, and International Terrestrial Cable (ITC) providers.
ISPs learned from International Internet Gateway operators that bandwidth supply from ITC providers had been halted, leading them to conclude that the shutdown was a government decision.
He added that while fibre optic cables were damaged in the Mohakhali fire, such damage could not have caused a nationwide outage, as 15-16 other data centres remained operational.
He also recalled Palak’s visit to the Disaster Management Building on July 23, where ISP leaders requested restoration of services. Palak assured them of resumption but publicly attributed the shutdown to a data centre fire, a claim Emdadul said was inaccurate.
Bd-pratidin English/ ANI
