ARTICLE 19, a UK-based international human rights organization working on freedom of expression and the right to information, has expressed disappointment over a court order for further investigation into the case of journalist Rozina Islam, who received the international Free Press Award 2021 for courageous journalism.
Earlier, ARTICLE 19 had welcomed the police's final report in the case against journalist Rozina Islam and hoped to get her justice from the court, says a press release issued on Tuesday.
Faruq Faisel, regional director of ARTICLE 19 South Asia, said: “Journalist Rozina Islam revealed corruption and irregularities in the health sector of Bangladesh during the Covid pandemic. Instead of taking effective measures against corruption in the Ministry of Health, Rozina Islam has been harassed and tortured. A case was filed against her under the Official Secrets Act. She is still being harassed due to the case.
“The naraji (no confidence) petition of the Ministry of Health filled in court against the investigation report of the case is an expression of their revenge against Rozina Islam. This continuous legal harassment by abusing the law must be stopped.”
Rozina, who investigated stories of government corruption and mismanagement of the health sector in Bangladesh during the Covid pandemic, was arrested on 17th May 2021, after a meeting at the Ministry of Health, reads the statement.
Following her arrest, she was held for six hours in confinement, where she reportedly suffered physical and mental harassment.
Since then, Rozina has been facing charges of up to 14 years in prison or even the death penalty, although she walked out of jail on bail almost a week after her arrest.
The filing of the case against her drew flak from netizens and a cross-section of people. It also triggered protests from journalists and different local and international organizations.
After investigating the case, the Detective Branch (DB) of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police submitted the final report to the court in July last year, recommending Rozina Islam be cleared of the charges in the case, saying that no material was found to support the allegations against her.
ARTICLE 19 called on the government to drop the case against Rozina Islam and urged it to take effective measures to prevent vexatious cases against journalists, incidents of assault, torture and harassment.
