A Bangladeshi journalist, who is known for her strong reporting on official corruption, was released from jail on Sunday, hours after a court in the nation’s capital awarded conditional bail amid protests at home and abroad calling for her release. Rozina Islam, a senior reporter for the leading Prothom Alo newspaper, had been held in detention since her arrest on Monday.
“I will most certainly continue working as a journalist,” Ms. Islam told a small crowd of supporters and journalists after leaving the jail outside Dhaka. Her family said she would go to a hospital for a health checkup.
Ms. Islam was arrested after she allegedly used her cellphone without permission to photograph documents related to government negotiations to buy COVID-19 vaccines, while she waited in the room of an official involved in the process, according to case documents seen by The Associated Press.
She faces charges of violating the colonial-era Official Secrets Act, which carries a possible death penalty.
Bangladesh’s Foreign Minister A.K. Abdul Momen on Thursday said he regretted the arrest and said Ms. Islam would receive fair justice.
Several of Ms. Islam’s hard-hitting reports on corruption involving the Health Ministry and others have drawn attention to the millions of dollars spent on procuring health equipment to deal with the pandemic.
