Amnesty International has published a video that reveals journalist Shafiqul Islam Kajol’s last known whereabouts as he has been missing since March 10.
The CCTV footage obtained by the human rights organization shows that a group of unidentified men approached journalist Kajol’s motorbike and appeared to tamper with it, according to a press release on Saturday.
“The suspicious activities of unidentified men captured in the footage are compelling evidence that shows that he was being followed only a day after the police opened an investigation against him. Since then, he has not been seen and his fate and whereabouts remain unknown,” said Saad Hammadi, South Asia campaigner at Amnesty International.
“We urge the authorities to immediately disclose the fate and whereabouts of the journalist and release him if he is under state custody without any further delay,” he added.
In the CCTV footage, Kajol is seen to arrive on his motorbike at his newspaper office on Meher Tower in Hatirpool, Dhaka at 4:14PM on March 10, 2020.
Several unidentified men can be seen suspiciously moving around his motorbike and keeping an eye on it for nearly three hours before he left the premises.
In six minutes between 5:59PM and 6:05PM, three men approached his motorbike separately and appeared to tamper with it.
The journalist is then seen getting out of his office with another person at 6:19PM and walking past his motorbike.
He then comes back and can be seen leaving the place on his motorbike alone at 6:51PM. That is the last time anyone has seen or heard from him.
The police registered a complaint from the family on March 11 regarding his disappearance, but they refused to take his case for investigation during the crucial first days, and have denied having him under custody.
It was only after a High Court order was conveyed to the police on 18 March that they carried out the first actions.
One day before his disappearance, Kajol, including Manabzamin Editor Matiur Rahman Chowdhury and 30 others, was accused in a case filed under the Digital Security Act for publishing and sharing a news article on social media regarding expelled Jubo Mohila League leader Shamima Noor Papia.
Last year, Bangladeshi human rights organization Odhikar documented at least 34 incidents of alleged enforced disappearances. Eight of them were later found dead, 17 were shown arrested, while the fate and whereabouts of the other nine remain unknown.
