Prothom Alo under threat of Digital Security Act: Withdraw case and release Samsuzzaman

The way a staff correspondent of Prothom Alo in Savar was picked up from his residence at the dead of the night in connection with a report, and the cased filed under the Digital Security Act (DSA) against the newspaper’s editor Matiur Rahman and unknown persons, will remain as a glaring example of the government’s hostile attitude to the press. A game of hide and seek was staged following the picking up of Samsuzzaman in the small hours from his residence by plainclothesmen identifying themselves as members of police’s Criminal Investigation Department (CID). Then after nearly 35 hours he was produced before the court.

The court on Thursday sent Samsuzzaman to jail in the case filed with Ramna police station. The court of additional chief metropolitan magistrate Tofazzal Hossain of the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (CMM) in Dhaka pronounced the order.

A ‘graphics card’ was prepared with contents from a report of Prothom Alo Online for sharing in its Facebook page on 26 March. The card used a quote of day labourer Zakir Hossain. It used a photograph of a child, Sabuj, who was waiting outside of the closed gate of National Mausoleum in Savar. The original report had a quote of the child as well. Both the quotes of the child and day labourer Zakir were separately placed in the original report. But Prothom Alo took down the ‘graphics card’ quickly from its Facebook page apprehending it would give birth to confusion among the readers. A note of correction was also published below the online report.

In connection with this, a Jubo League activist Syed Md. Golam Kibria filed a case with Tejgaon police station in Dhaka at 2:15 am on Wednesday. Within two hours of filing the case, a team of police’s CID in three microbuses went to detain Samsuzzaman from his residence near the Jahangirnagar University.

Along with detaining the Prothom Alo staff correspondent, the CID members seized his laptop, two mobile phones and a portable hard disk. Following this a game of hide and seek was staged for the whole day regarding his arrest and filing of a new case. The second case filed against Samsuzzaman with Ramna police station on Wednesday midnight was also under the Digital Security Act. Lawyer Abdul Malek (Mashiur Malek) is the plaintiff of the second case. Samsuzzaman was the lone accused in the first case but in the second case newspaper’s editor Matiur Rahman was also made an accused.

We think the cases were filed against Prothom Alo’s editor and the staff correspondent just to restrict the newspaper’s scope of independent journalism.

The cases filed against Prothom Alo’s editor and the staff correspondent under the Digital Security Act are baseless and motivated. Quoting the report of a private television channel, the case statement said Prothom Alo maligned the spirit of liberation war, which is completely untrue.

Since its inception, Prothom Alo has been committed to upholding the spirit of the liberation war and values of independence. It has not deviated an inch from that stance. This is the foundation pillar of Prothom Alo’s editorial policy. For the last 24 years Prothom Alo has been unearthing and publishing many significant documents regarding the liberation War.

From the very first day we have been opposing the Digital Security Act. Several sections of the law are misused an the continuation of such a law will not only hamper the press freedom, but also violate human rights.

We demand an immediate withdrawal of cases and release of Samsuzzaman and withdrawal of the case against editor Matiur Rahman. The Digital Security Act also has to be repealed. We are grateful to all the people and organisations and rights bodies at home and abroad who demand the release of Samsuzzaman and withdrawal of case against Prothom Alo editor Matiur Rahman.