Dhaka, June 20 (IANS) As concerns over a crackdown on media professionals continue to mount in Bangladesh, police have arrested a journalist in a case filed under the country’s Cyber Security Act linked to a series of reports allegedly defaming State Minister for Local Government, Rural Development and Co-operatives (LGRD) Mir Shahe Alam, according to local media reports.
The arrested journalist was identified as Rezanur Islam, acting editor of Bangladeshi newspaper Dainik Agrajatra Pratidin.
He was sent to Bogra jail on Friday following a court order after being arrested from the Board Bazar area of Gazipur Sadar upazila on the night of June 18, said Bogra Additional Superintendent of Police (Media) Ataur Rahman.
The case was registered on June 15 in connection with the publication of a report carrying allegations of corruption against Bogra-2 (Shibganj) lawmaker and LGRD State Minister Mir Shahe Alam, Bangladeshi daily Dhaka Tribune reported.
Reports suggest that the complaint was filed by Tanvir Alam Rimon, treasurer of the Bogra Press Club and northern regional representative of The New Nation, against six individuals, including the editor and publisher of the newspaper.
Acting on the complaint, the senior judicial magistrate ordered legal proceedings against the accused and directed Bogra Sadar Police Station to register the case as a first information report (FIR).
Other accused include the publisher and editor of Dainik Agrojatra Pratidin, Mehdi Hasan; news editor Ashraf Ali Faruqi; reporter Saleh Kaisar; Bogra correspondent Md. Shams and district correspondent Sabbir Hasan.
The case statement alleged that Agrajatra Pratidin published a report on its social media page on May 4 under the headline “State Minister Mir Shahe Alam in corruption controversy,” which the complainant termed “defamatory, false, and fabricated,” Bangladesh’s leading newspaper, The Daily Star, reported.
Following the incident, Bangladesh’s Awami League condemned the arrest of Rezanur, warning that the use of criminal proceedings against journalists over critical reporting raises serious concerns about press freedom and the shrinking space for independent media in the country.
“The issue is not merely about one individual. It is about whether uncomfortable reporting can be treated as a criminal matter. When criticism is labeled ‘provocation’ and unfavorable coverage is branded ‘defamation,’ the space for independent journalism inevitably narrows,” the Awami League stated.
“Rezanur Islam is a journalist, not a convicted criminal. Yet he now finds himself in jail while legal proceedings continue. To critics, this is more than the detention of a media professional. It is a troubling signal for press freedom and the ability of journalists to scrutinize those in power,” it added.
–IANS
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