Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal on Thursday said Criminal Investigation Department (CID) freed Prothom Alo journalist Shamasuzzman Shams after interrogation over a report published on its website on March 26.
“But later he was arrested further when several cases were filed against him in different places,” he said, adding that more cases are being filed against him.
The minister made the remarks while responding to questions from journalists over the arrest of journalist Shams, after a meeting with Law Minister Advocate Anisul Huq at the ministry on Thursday noon.
When asked about detention of the journalist and his subsequent disappearance for around 20 hours, Asaduzzaman said, “I clearly said yesterday that I heard one or two cases were filed over a report and even told that I had no detail information about the matter.”
Replying to a question, the home minister replied that the journalists who prepare reports based on true information need not to be afraid of the matter.
On March 29, the CID in plainclothes picked up Shams from his residence in Ambagan area, adjacent to Jahangirnagar University, around 4:30am.
In the afternoon, a Jubo League leader filed a case under the Digital Security Act against Shams, accusing him of publishing a “false and fabricated report” in the daily Prothom Alo.
On Thursday, a Dhaka court sent Shams to jail after rejecting his bail plea.
Prothom Alo editor sued under DSA
Editor and publisher of the country’s leading newspaper Prothom Alo has been sued alongside other staff members under the Digital Security Act.
An FIR of the case was filed yesterday at Ramna Police Station by a lawyer named Abdul Malek (Mashiur Malek), accusing the paper’s editor and publisher Matiur Rahman, reporter Shamsuzzaman Shams, an unnamed “assistant cameraman”, and unnamed others of “using print, online, and electronic media to tarnish the image and reputation of the state”.
In the FIR, the lawyer also mentioned that the accused were “purposefully spreading misinformation to deteriorate the law-and-order situation of the country.”
The case was filed under sections 25, 31, and 35 of the DSA.
According to the case statement, the plaintiff read news on the website of the Prothom Alo while he was browsing the internet in front of Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy area at around 9 pm on Sunday (March 26).
The report was published with a photo of a child holding flowers in front of the National Martyrs’ Memorial at Savar, said the case statement.
The report said that the boy’s name is Jakir Hossain and quoted him as saying: “What will I do with the independence if I don’t have rice to eat? I sweat when I go to market; we need freedom of fish, meat and rice.”
Though the boy was mentioned as Jakir Hossain by Prothom Alo, private television channel Ekattor TV in an investigation found that the boy’s real name is Sabuj Ahmed and he is a class three student, it said.
The Ekattor TV report said that the boy did not say anything to the Prothom Alo reporter and the latter “took Sabuj’s photo after giving him Tk 10”.
The plaintiff said the news reported by Shamsuzzaman went viral on social media which “tarnished the image of the country and triggered criticism at home and abroad.”
Moreover, there was a possibility of deterioration in the law-and-order situation in the country over the matter, the case statement said.
Meanwhile, a legal notice was also sent to the Prothom Alo Editor Matiur Rahman and three others over the published content.
Mithun Biswas, a lawyer from Chattogram sent the notice to the Prothom Alo office on Wednesday, demanding an unconditional apology to the nation within seven days.
On March 26, Prothom Alo published a ‘card’ with a photograph and a quotation of a day labourer Zakir Hossain for sharing a news report on Facebook. However, the national daily later removed the post online due to a discrepancy regarding the photo that was used with the news.
Later, the report was republished with necessary amendments and a note below the report regarding the correction.
