The Editors’ Council on Saturday expressed concern and protested the arrest and jail custody of Md Rezanur Islam, acting editor of daily Agrajatra Pratidin, in a case filed over a report on Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives State Minister Mir Shahe Alam in Bogra.
The council said the incident goes against the Bangladesh Nationalist Party’s (BNP) election manifesto and its 31-point program on state reform, which includes commitments to media freedom and free expression.
It said that if any aggrieved person has objections to a news report, there are legal and institutional channels in the country for redress, regardless of that person’s position.
The council said complaints can be filed with the Bangladesh Press Council, while the aggrieved person may also seek redress through a case under existing law.
It said that in this case, a journalist was arrested and sent to jail in a case filed by another journalist.
The council added that similar cases, arrests and harassment against journalists over news reports were seen during the previous Awami League government, and that the pattern has now reappeared.
It said the use of criminal cases, arrest and imprisonment against journalists over news publication is a matter of grave concern for independent journalism and the right to free expression.
The council added that such actions would affect the independence of newspapers and media workers, and could further damage Bangladesh’s press freedom record. It said Bangladesh currently ranks 152nd in the world press freedom index.
The Editors’ Council called for the immediate release of Md Rezanur Islam and urged that complaints against journalists be handled through the existing legal and institutional framework, especially the Bangladesh Press Council.
