(CPJ/IFEX) – The following is a 28 March 2007 CPJ press release: Bangladeshi journalist released on bail after a week in jail New York, March 28, 2007 – The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomes the release on bail Tuesday of Daily Star reporter E.A.M. Asaduzzaman Tipu, who was jailed last week in the northern Bangladesh […]
(CPJ/IFEX) – The following is a 28 March 2007 CPJ press release:
Bangladeshi journalist released on bail after a week in jail
New York, March 28, 2007 – The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomes the release on bail Tuesday of Daily Star reporter E.A.M. Asaduzzaman Tipu, who was jailed last week in the northern Bangladesh district of Nilphamari for his reporting on official mismanagement, the Dhaka-based daily reported.
“We are glad our colleague Asaduzzaman Tipu has been released on bail, but he should never have been jailed in the first place,” said CPJ Executive Director Joel Simon. “His imprisonment appears to be a heavy-handed attempt to silence critical reporting.”
In an editorial on Thursday, the newspaper accused the district administration of targeting the journalist for his critical reporting of the local government’s handling of fertilizer distribution in the area.
Local police told reporters that Tipu was arrested March 21 following allegations by a local fertilizer dealer that the correspondent had made “unethical demands.” The dealer, Biswajit Bhoumik Bapi, later denied making the accusation.
Daily Star staff reporter Rashed Hasan told CPJ that the Nilphamari First Class Magistrate’s court will now decide whether the complaint brought against Tipu is valid, but he does not know when the court will do so.
CPJ is a New York-based, independent, nonprofit organization that works to safeguard press freedom worldwide. For more information, visit http://www.cpj.org
