Student abuse clip filmed in Pakistan, not Bangladesh
Warning: graphic visuals
"How inhumane can it be for something to make this possible! This is how tickets to heaven are given in some madrasas in Bangladesh," reads a Bengali-language Facebook post on April 27, 2025.
It includes graphic footage of a crying child suspended head down while other students read books inside a madrasa, an educational institution with a curriculum combining Islamic theology and general sciences (archived link).
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Screenshot of the false post taken May 26, 2025
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Similar posts spread on Facebook following reports of teachers physically assaulting students in madrasas in Bangladesh including an incident that allegedly led to the death of a young boy (archived here and ).
But the circulating video is old and not taken in Bangladesh.
A of keyframes found it earlier posted on the Facebook account of Pakistan's Express News television channel on June 29, 2019 (archived link).
"Man arrested for torturing a child hanging upside down in madrasa," reads the post's Urdu-language caption.
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Screenshot comparison of the false post (L) and the video from Express News
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Subsequent found similar visuals embedded in Geo News and The Express Tribune reports in June 2019 (archived link).
The incident occurred several months prior after which there was a settlement between the parties involved, according to The Express Tribune report.
they conducted an investigation when the clip went viral and arrested the teacher who allegedly tied the child up (archived link).
AFP reached out to the police but a representative said no update could be provided as the case is old.
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