A day after the arrest of a senior journalist and one of Khaleda Zia’s adviser, the Bangladesh government has claimed that Shafik Rehman was arrested on specific charges, not for his work as a journalist.
On Sunday, Information Minister Hasanul Haq Inu said Mr. Rehman was arrested on specific charges and not for his work as a journalist. Law Minister Anisul Haq said, if he (journalist) is found innocent, he will be released, adding “and if the allegation is proved, trial proceedings will run against him.”
The Minister also claimed the issue has “nothing to do with newspapers, media or the rule of law”.
Mr. Rehman was the third journalist arrested by the Sheikh Hasina government claiming that these actions were not for doing journalism but for specific criminal charges. as they tried to serve a particular political party breaking law . But in all the cases the government faced criticism for arbitrary use of power.
Allegation by PM’s son
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s son Sajeeb Wazed Joy on Saturday claimed to have obtained the evidence of the journalist’s involvement in a plot to kill him from the US justice department. Joy, in a Facebook post, said , he faces risk as “my mother is in politics in Bangladesh and I help her from time to time.” Outspoken Joy also added : “It is also because our opposition party is of a particularly violent criminal bent and is allied with the largest fundamentalist party in the country with direct ties to ISIS.”
About the arrested journalist, Mr. Joy, also the ICT Affairs adviser to Ms. Hasina, claimed the journalist was part of the plot in bribing an FBI agent to obtain information about him “to kidnap and kill me in the US”.
The case
In August 2015, a case was registered with a Dhaka police station against BNP's cultural wing Vice-President Mohammad Ullah Mamun for a plot to kill Prime Minister's son who lives in the US . A number of unnamed BNP leaders were also made accused in the case . The lawsuit was filed upon the permission from the home ministry after police found evidence of the allegation.
A US court, earlier on March 4, sentenced BNP’s cultural wing leader Mamun's son Rizve Ahmed Caesar for his involvement in a bribery scheme to obtain confidential information from a former FBI special agent in New York. According to a statement of US Justice Department, Rizve sought confidential information about a Bangladeshi political figure who was affiliated with a political party opposing Rizve’s views.
