Mathiur Rahman, one of the most respected journalists in Bangladesh and editor-in-chief of the Bengali-language daily Prothom Alo, has been released on bail after being charged with violating the Digital Security Act. This was reported on April 3 by UCA News.
“He was released on bail for six weeks”His lawyer Khan Panna told reporters outside the courthouse.
Rahman, 78, asked the court to release him on bail after prosecutors filed a case against him last week.
The case against Rahman and Prothom Alo reporter Shamsuzzaman Shams arose from an article on March 26, Bangladesh’s Independence Day, which cited ordinary people struggling to meet basic needs.
“What good is this freedom if we can’t afford to buy rice?”— quotes the publication of the words of a worker.
The aforementioned “Digital Security Law” has already been criticized by the UN and human rights groups, who have seen it as a tool to suppress dissent and harass journalists.
UN human rights chief Volker Türk called for an immediate moratorium on the law, which he said Dhaka used “to arrest, harass and intimidate journalists and human rights activists, and to suppress critical voices online.”
Reporters Without Borders added that the case against Rahman has no legal basis and “clearly constitutes an act of government intimidation against all journalists.”
Rahman could face up to seven years in prison on these charges if convicted.
From October 2018 to June 2021, at least 2,646 cases were filed under this law, in which nearly 6,000 people were charged and 2,607 people were detained, according to police data.
Source: Rossa Primavera
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