(RSF/IFEX) – On 6 January 2003, RSF expressed great concern for the physical safety of journalist Saleem Samad after the government secretly sent him to a prison in Gazipur, north of Dhaka, more than one month after being arrested for working with journalists from the British television station Channel 4. “Islamist and hardline newspapers are […]
(RSF/IFEX) – On 6 January 2003, RSF expressed great concern for the physical safety of journalist Saleem Samad after the government secretly sent him to a prison in Gazipur, north of Dhaka, more than one month after being arrested for working with journalists from the British television station Channel 4.
“Islamist and hardline newspapers are feeding false news to their readers about a supposed international plot against Bangladesh, but the government has not come up with a shred of evidence against Samad,” RSF Secretary-General Robert Ménard noted in a letter to Interior Minister Altaf Hossein Chowdhury. “We demand that the rule of law be respected and that the High Court order to release Samad be respected,” Ménard said.
“How can your government accuse Samad, who works for the Pakistan daily ‘Daily Times’ and the Indian news website Tehelka.com, which is being harassed by the Indian government, of being a secret agent of India in a plot against Bangladesh?” Ménard asked. “It just doesn’t add up.”
Samad’s family told RSF that he was secretly transferred from Dhaka prison to a prison in Gazipur (60 kilometres north of Dhaka) on 1 January. The journalist’s family and lawyer have not been allowed to see him for the past week.
The High Court gave the government a deadline of 7 January to provide its reason for Samad’s continued detention under the Special Powers Act. Police and state security agents seem unable to produce any evidence against him.
The High Court ordered him to be released on bail on 24 December 2002, but the government refused to do so, and on 31 December it tried to get court permission to take him back to police headquarters for further interrogation. He was tortured during earlier questioning.
Islamist newspapers, notably the dailies “Inquilab” and “Sangram”, continue to accuse Samad and other journalists of being part of an “international plot” against Bangladesh. The newspapers “Inquilab”, “Sangram”, and “Manavzamin” each published an identical article on 31 December about an “international conspiracy” led by the Channel 4 team, including Samad, and the Indian secret service.
Hundreds of journalists have called for Samad’s release by signing an international petition available at the website www.rsf.org, and many other appeals, including one from Channel 4, have been sent to the government. Amnesty International has also launched an international campaign for his release.