Tue 18 May 2021:
The arrest of a top Bangladesh reporter, who wrote scathing stories on the country’s response to the coronavirus pandemic, sparked protests by hundreds of reporters Tuesday.
Rozina Islam, an investigative journalist for Prothom Alo newspaper, was detained late Monday under the Official Secrets Act, police said.
She appeared in court on Tuesday charged with stealing health ministry documents under the same act. A new hearing was set for Thursday.
What is going on in #bangladesh? One of the country’s most respected women journalists is detained for hours. Hey, Health Ministry: journalism is not a crime! The world is watching. https://t.co/kk7rNo3meS
— Global Investigative Journalism Network (@gijn) May 18, 2021
Rights groups say a crackdown on the media has grown during the coronavirus crisis and hundreds of journalists went to the Dhaka police station where the 42-year-old reporter was taken on Monday.
Some tried to block entrances to the building and the protests continued Tuesday.
Before her formal detention, islam spent five hours at the health ministry that has accused her of stealing documents, according to a ministry complaint seen by AFP.
Leaders of journalist unions and advocacy groups who spoke at the protests said Islam had been arrested because of her reports on the government’s response to the pandemic.
Her stories included how urgent medical equipment has been left at Dhaka airport for months, bribes being offered to recruit doctors and alleged graft in procurement at the health ministry.
“Her reports have clearly exposed the weaknesses of the ministry to safeguard the health rights of the people during the coronavirus pandemic,” the Law and Mediation Centre group said.
It demanded Islam’s immediate release.
Bangladesh has reported just over 12,000 coronavirus deaths and nearly 800,000 infections, but experts say this grossly under reports the true toll.
