Rozina being targeted for critical reporting: Amnesty International

Amnesty International said on Wednesday that journalist Rozina Islam is being targeted from her critical reporting as the authorities have failed to show the concrete evidence pointing to a recognizable criminal offence against her.

“In the absence of such evidence, the authorities must release her immediately," said the international rights body.

It has come with the statement on Wednesday issuing a press release signed by Amnesty International’s South Asia campaigner Saad Hammadi.

They said the prosecution of Rozina Islam under the Official Secrets Act is a brazen attack on the right to freedom of expression and the ability of Bangladeshi society to seek and receive information, adding that, “information about how the government is procuring COVID-19 vaccines is in the public interest and should not be hidden behind national security locks.”

Lauding journalist Rozina’s contribution to exposing irregularities in Bangladesh’s health sector for the past few months during the Covid-19 pandemic, Amnesty International said, her arrest points to an increasing trend of a wider crackdown on freedom of expression through draconian laws to silence critical or dissenting views.