Saleem Samad granted political asylum in Canada
Udatta Bikash, Ph.D. Human Rights Practitioner Dhaka
The Bangladeshi journalist with an international reputation, Saleem Samad has been granted asylum in Canada. The Immigration and Refugee Board (IRB) of Canada in a hearing on 19 January made the decision offering him this protection. In the verdict, the senior member (judge) of the IRB mentioned that Mr. Samad's statements (both written and oral) have corroborated with the country reports by different bodies and international agencies including the US State Department (Human Rights Report 2004), Amnesty International, Committee to Protect Journalists, Reporters Sans Frontieres (RSF) etc. Mr. Samad, the Bangladesh Correspondent of the Paris-based RSF and TIME (Asia), and also the Diplomatic Correspondent of the Dhaka daily The Bangladesh Observer was arrested and detained by the authority in Bangladesh in February 2003. He was released later reportedly through interventions by the RSF and various other influences. I feel sorry that a country like ours could not provide a safe shelter to a dedicated journalist like Mr. Samad. How unfortunate we really are.
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