People stand by the truth, this gives me strength

Prothom Alo staff correspondent Samsuzzaman in Savar thanked everyone who supported him, stood for truth, which gave him the strength during his time behind the bars.

Six days after getting picked up by plainclothesmen identifying themselves as CID officers, Samsuzzaman was released on bail from the Dhaka Central Jail in Keraniganj at 6:00pm on Monday.

His co-workers greeted him with flower garlands and the present newspersons were curious to know what the Prothom Alo correspondent was feeling in that moment.

“I was a little distraught, feeling mentally disturbed. But I feel that I’ve recovered from that. Now, all in all, I’m feeling good,” Samsuzzaman said after his release.

“From my office to the country’s journalist fraternity and the younger brothers of my university campus, everyone always stood by me. This gives me a lot of joy. It also gave me a lot of strength. All of them stood for the truth. I heard my voice being expressed from the outside, from the people. I didn’t have to say anything,” he added.

Earlier, Samsuzzaman got bail from the case filed against him at the capital’s Ramna police station under the Digital Security Act.

Samsuzzaman also thanked the countrymen, “I am grateful to the people of the country. They all stood by me, they tried from their ends. I am grateful to all of them.”

The reporter also said that he did not face any harsh treatment from the law enforcement agency, “Everyone was very sincere. Everyone handled it very positively. From the prison, to the CID office, everyone had a positive approach. They repeatedly asked me how I was doing, if I was facing any discomfort. I’m grateful to them as well.”

Samsuzzaman was also asked about the much debated DSA. He replied, “I've seen a lot of discussions on it. I’m an unimportant person. Everyone is saying it should be stopped. The opinions of the experienced people should be given importance. They need to be consulted and everyone should be allowed to take part in updating it.”

On Monday noon, he applied for bail for the second time at the chief metropolitan magistrate (CMM) court. He was given bail on a bond of Tk 20,000.

Earlier, Samsuzzaman was brought to the CMM court on 30 March. Later Ramna police station appealed for sending him to the jail.

Samsuzzamans lawyer Proshanta Karmakar filed a petition with the court seeking bail.

After hearing, the court rejected his bail prayer and ordered to send him to jail. Samsuzzaman was taken to Dhaka Central Jail in Keraniganj but the following day, he was taken to Kashimpur Central Jail in Gazipur.

On Saturday, he was again shifted to Dhaka Central Jail in Keraniganj. Samsuzzaman faces another lawsuit filed with Tejgaon police station under the Digital Security Act.

A team of around 14-15 people went to the house of Samsuzzaman near Jahangirnagar University in Savar at around 4:00am on 29 March. They identified themselves as members of police’s Criminal Investigation Department (CID), searched the room of Samsuzzaman and seized his laptop, two mobile phones, and a portable hard disk. Later, they picked Samsuzzaman up from his residence.