DSA case filed against Prothom Alo journo

A case was filed under the Digital Security Act against National daily Prothom Alo's Savar correspondent Shamsuzzaman Shams in the early hours of Wednesday.

He was later picked up from his Savar home by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) around 4am.

Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal told The Business Standard that the CID had picked up the journalist.

"A case has been filed and it will be dealt with accordingly," he said.

He said since it was a cyber-crime related matter, which the CID deals with, the law enforcement agency had picked him up for questioning.

Syed Golam Kibria, the general secretary of Ward-11 of the Dhaka North city unit Jubo League, filed the case with Tejgaon Police Station around 2:15am.

The case statement said Shams, for his report, paid a child Tk10 and fabricated his quote.

This proves that the report published on 26 March in Prothom Alo was influenced by vested interests to tarnish the image of the government and the country globally, the statement added.

Kibria, in his statement, said his sentiments were hurt by the report published on Independence Day.

Kibria mentioned he came across the "controversial" news on social media at 1:32am while in front of Al-Razi Medical Services of Farmgate intersection.

He then went to the nearest police station in Tejgaon, which was around 100 metres away.

Within 43 minutes, the case complaint was written, composed and Officer- in-Charge Apurbo Hasan recorded the case at around 2:15am of the same night.

An hour or so later, plainclothes CID men raided the journo's Savar home in the Ambagan area adjacent to Jahangirnagar University and detained him.

"Some senior officers of the CID came from Dhaka and picked up Shamsuzzaman from his residence around 4am. I do not know the names of the officials," Ashulia Police Station Sub-Inspector Raju Mondal confirmed to The Business Standard.

However, no statement was received from the CID in this regard.

Witnesses said about 16 people in three cars came in front of Shamsuzzaman's house.

After he was picked up, they took Shamsuzzaman, Jahangirnagar University Chief Security Officer Sudipta Shaheen and a security guard, to an eatery on the university premises, where they had their Sahri meal.

They went back to Shamsuzzaman's house around 5:30am. One of the three cars had no number plates, witnesses said.

The owner of the house where Shamsuzzaman lived was called by people who introduced themselves as the CID. They told him there were objections regarding a report done by Shamsuzzaman, so he is being taken for questioning.

The Ashulia SI said the officers then prepared a seizure list and took his signature there.

Speaking to TBS,  Jahangirnagar University Chief Security Officer Sudipta Shaheen said, "Since I am the university's chief security officer, the officers approached me. They said a female colleague of mine from the university was in danger, which is why they came here. They took me to Shamsuzzaman's house in that connection. Later, they arrested Shamsuzzaman."

Journalist organisations, politicians, rights body condemn detention

The Editors Guild of Bangladesh, an association formed to protect editorial freedom and promote responsible journalism in the country, expressed grave concern over the detention.

In a statement issued on Wednesday (29 March), the Editors Guild emphasised that journalists must not be subjected to arrest, harassment or torture in any way.

The Editors Guild called for a free and independent working environment for the media, stating that if Prothom Alo published any report that violated the principles of journalism, the aggrieved party could seek recourse through the Bangladesh Press Council.

The Guild urged that the matter be settled through the Press Council.

Meanwhile, rights body Ain o Salish Kendra (ASK) also condemned the arrest of journalist Shamsuzzaman.

In a statement, the rights body expressed strong condemnation and protest over his arrest.

"This kind of aggression against a journalist is very despicable and not acceptable in any way. Besides, these kinds of behaviours are also barriers to independent journalism and media freedom. Picking up any journalist at the wee hours is unacceptable. We strongly demand immediate release of detained journalist Shamsuzzaman," the statement reads.

Meanwhile, BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir demanded the unconditional release of Prothom Alo journalist Shamsuzzaman Shams.

"But I don't understand what crime the journalist has committed... I strongly condemn the detention of Shasuzzaman Shams and demand his immediate and unconditional release," Fakhrul said.

Gonotronto Mancho, a political alliance, and Communist Party of Bangladesh (CPB) also demanded immediate release of detained journalist Shamsuzuman.

Journalists working in different media and students of Jahangirnagar University held a human chain program in Savar, Ashulia and Dhamrai to protest the incident.

Zahirul Islam Liton, general secretary of Ashulia Press Club, who was present at the human chain, said it was a very sad sign that a journalist was taken away from his house by a team of 16 law enforcement officers in plainclothes in the middle of the night.

Mozaffar Hossain Joy, president of Ashulia Press Club, said, "Earlier, we used to see that when terrorists and big criminals are caught, the Ministry of Home Affairs gives a statement. Today, we got to know whether a journalist was detained through our home minister. So, where do we stand? We protest this incident and demand his immediate release."