Walking out of the Kashimpur Central Jail after securing bail in a case filed under the Official Secrets Act 1923 Prothom Alo journalist Rozina Islam on Sunday afternoon vowed to continue journalism.
“I will continue journalism. I thank all who stood by me,” Rozina told journalists after coming of the jail at 41:15pm.
Halima Khatun, Senior Jail Superintendent at the Kashimpur Central Jail, said Rozina walked out of the jail at 4:12pm on the day.
Earlier on the day, Dhaka Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Hakim Baki Billah granted Rozina bail on a Tk 5,000 bail bond. The court also ordered Rozina to submit her passport, Rozina's lawyer Jyotirmoy Barua told The Business Post.
The same court on Thursday fixed Sunday for delivering the order after a virtual hearing on her bail plea.
The 42-year-old, known for her investigative reporting, was kept confined at the Ministry of Health for over five hours before being handed over to police on May 17.
She allegedly clicked photos of documents related to government negotiations with pharmaceutical firms to buy Covid-19 vaccines, according to case documents.
An FIR was filed against Rozina under the Official Secrets Act and sections 379 and 411 of The Penal Code on a complaint filed by the Health Services Division at Shahbagh police station.
Later, a Dhaka court, on May 18, sent Rozina to jail after rejecting the police's demand for a five-day remand for her. Rozina was taken to Kashimpur Central Women's Jail on that day.
The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has formed a three-member probe committee to look into the allegations of the journalist's detention at the ministry and also her subsequent handover to the police.
Meanwhile, the case filed against Rozina was transferred to the Detective Branch of police on Wednesday.
