Prothom Alo reporter Samsuzzaman Shams taken to court

The editor of the newspaper, Matiur Rahman, has been named in a second case

Court Correspondentbdnews24.com
Published : 30 March 2023, 05:02 AM
Updated : 30 March 2023, 05:02 AM

Police took Prothom Alo reporter Samsuzzaman Shams to the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate’s Court in Dhaka, a day after he was detained by the CID.

"For now, he has been kept in court custody,” Mohammad Anisur Rahman, a deputy commissioner of Dhaka Metropolitan Police, told bdnews24.com on Thursday.

“He has been shown arrested in a case filed by lawyer Moshiur Malek and the investigating officer has requested that he be sent to jail, but did not request a remand.”

Prashanta Karmakar, who represented Shams at the hearing, said they had prepared a bail petition and it would be heard as soon as the court convened.

Malek filed a case under the Digital Security Act on Wednesday night, alleging that the reporter had published and disseminated information that was ‘false, misleading, and defamatory to the nation’ in an article marking Independence Day.

Also accused in the case were Prothom Alo editor Matiur Rahman for ‘ordering’ the report and an unnamed cameraman for ‘assisting’ it.

The plaintiff also accused other unnamed individuals for ‘liking, sharing, and commenting on the article’ on social media.

Dhaka Metropolitan North Jubo League leader Md Golam Kibria filed another case for spreading ‘false and defamatory’ information at the Tejgaon Police Station. Shams is the sole accused in the case.

Shams was detained from his home early on Wednesday morning by men identifying themselves as CID personnel before the news of the Tejgaon case came to light.

Though the CID did not acknowledge the detention, several witnesses, including a local journalist, Shams’s landlord, and the chief security officer of neighbouring Jahangir University, said the men had identified themselves as members of the police CID unit.

Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan said on Wednesday that police had the right to detain Shams as a case had been filed over the incident.

Nearly 24 hours after his detention, police said that Shams was in court custody.

WHAT HAPPENED?

Shams is a staff correspondent for the daily Prothom Alo. He lived in a rented house in the Ambagan area next to Jahangirnagar University, from where he graduated.

His brother was Assistant Commissioner of Police Rabiul Islam, who was killed in a 2016 operation during the Holey Artisan Bakery militant attack.

On Mar 26, the Prothom Alo published a report carrying Shams’s byline. The report was described as ‘anti-state’ by Awami League leaders.

“What will we do with independence if there’s no food to fill our stomachs?” a labourer was quoted as saying on the Mar 26 online version of Prothom Alo. He indicated that people sweat over how to secure rice, meat and fish every day.

Though the headline quoted the labourer, the image used in the report was that of a child. The photo and the headline were used in a card posted on social media, which led to widespread discussion. An Ekattor TV report then raised questions about the article.

Prothom Alo then changed the photograph and the headline while withdrawing its social media post.

Three days after the report was published, it was reported that Shams had been detained from his home by men identifying themselves as ‘CID personnel’.

It was later revealed that a Jubo League leader had filed a case against Shams late on Tuesday night. On Wednesday night, another case was filed against the journalist.

“Why did they snatch him like that?” Shams’s mother Korimon Nesa said after hearing of the cases. “My son would have gone to them on his own. Why did they take him?”

The Committee to Protect Journalists, an international organisation aimed at securing the rights of journalists, called for the swift and unconditional release of Shams.