Framing me in one murder case is enough, says Farzana Rupa to court

The journalist and her husband Shakil Ahmed stand accused in several cases over the violence during the July uprising

Shakil Ahmed, former head of news at Ekattor Television, and his wife Farzana Rupa, former chief correspondent and presenter at Ekattor Television, have been shown arrested in two separate murder cases filed at Dhaka’s Jatrabari Police Station over incidents during the Anti-discrimination Student Movement protests.

The two were brought to court on Wednesday morning and the investigating officers in the cases petitioned for them to be shown arrested in the two cases.

At one point in the proceedings, Rupa requested permission to speak. Addressing the court, she said that she had no lawyer to stand for her and asked whether she could petition for bail. The judge told her that the hearing was on the issue of arrests and not on the issue of bail.

Then, Rupa said that a dozen or so cases were proceeding against her. She said that she was a journalist and framing her in a single murder case was enough.

Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Md Monirul Islam then showed her arrested in the case. Shakil and Rupa, in the dock, had an extended conversation with each other.

In addition to Shakil and Rupa, former Dhaka North City Corporation mayor Atiqul Islam and former minister Shajahan Khan were also shown arrested in one of the two murder cases. Former minister Anisul Huq was also shown arrested in the other case.

Following the hearing, as she was being led away under heavy police guard, Rupa said that framing a journalist in one case is enough and asked why so many cases had been filed against her.

She said that nothing could be worse than requesting and being denied bail in the month of Ramadan.

The detainees were then taken to jail.