Scribe’s health anomaly stories lands her in jail
Dhaka, May 18: A senior Bangladeshi woman journalist, known for her investigative reporting, was arrested on charges of violating a colonial-era official secrecy law, the police said on Tuesday, triggering protests by the rights groups and her colleagues. Rozina Islam, a senior reporter of Bangla daily Prothom Alo, the largest daily newspaper based on circulation, was on Monday detained for over five hours by the Health Ministry officials for allegedly clicking a picture of a document with her cell phone without permission.
She was later arrested by the police. The ministry filed a case against her at around midnight under the 1923 Official Secrets Act while she spent her night under the police custody, the police said. She was produced before a court here with a petition seeking her to be remanded in custody for five days, which the judge rejected and sent her to jail to await the routine legal procedures.
The judge said he would entertain the prosecution charge and the defence statements including her bail petition on Thursday. A prosecution lawyer told reporters that “whether the allegation is true or false, a case has been filed” which needed a procedure to be disposed of.
Rozina, who earned the reputation of being an investigative journalist, has in recent months published several reports exposing the health ministry’s alleged malpractices during the Covid-19 pandemic, drawing public attention. She also published several reports involving the health sector which included alleged graft in procurement at the health ministry, corruption in doctors’ recruitment and how urgent medical equipment for Coronavirus treatment were left at Dhaka airport for months. “The incident is unfortunate,” Health Minister Zahid Maleque told TV channels without elaborating further.