Kajol home after 290 long, bleak days

"The day feels unreal," said Monorom Polok after his father, photojournalist Shafiqul Islam Kajol, was released from the Dhaka Central Jail yesterday.

Kajol walked out of the jail in Keraniganj at 11:15am, as a free man, at last.

He was all cleared to be released on December 17, when the High Court granted him bail in two remaining cases filed against him under the Digital Security Act.

Since then, his family had been eagerly waiting to see the execution of the bail and Kajol freed.

Many had expected that the event of Kajol's release would take place amid fanfare, with huge media presence.

But it happened suddenly and quietly. A blurry photo shot from a distance, with the subject obstructed by bystanders, is all that exists from the moment for which activists and journalists had been waiting so long.

In the photo, Kajol is seen clutching his son in a hug, his eyes closed, his shaggy and unshaven face apparently overwhelmed with the emotion of the moment.

"We got to know late yesterday [Friday] that the bail order was sent to the jail. Father called this morning and we immediately rushed to pick him up," said Polok.

"There was no time to prepare anything special at home either because we got to know very suddenly that he's being released," said Polok. And so the day they had been longing for, for over 290 days, was spent with simple homely comforts.

"My father is reeling from what he went through," Polok said, adding that the photojournalist's health deteriorated while in jail. He also said his father endured temporary paralysis in his arm. 

 "Baba is taking rest today, but will talk soon," he added.

The HC bench of Justice M Enayetur Rahim and Justice Md Mostafizur Rahman granted Kajol bail on December 17 following two separate bail petitions filed by him in two DSA cases lodged with Hazaribagh and Kamrangirchar police stations.

The HC bench passed the order after Kajol's lawyer Jyotirmoy Barua told the court that the investigations into the two cases were illegal as the probes had to be concluded within 75 days of filing of the cases.

The cases were filed on March 9 and March 11. He was not even "shown arrested" in the DSA cases until June 23, long after the deadline for concluding the probe was over.

The photojournalist had already secured HC bail in another case filed under the DSA act.

He was arrested under Section 54 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) on May 4, after a prolonged disappearance of 53 days.

For a single Facebook post, Kajol was denied bail a total of 13 times, according to Article 19, a human rights organisation.

Talking to The Daily Star yesterday about Kajol's release, Saad Hammadi, Amnesty International's South Asia Campaigner, said, "It's a relief to know that Kajol has been freed, after two months of disappearance and seven months in detention for his posts on Facebook. We hope that the authorities will drop the cases against Kajol, and release all those who have been detained solely for exercising their right to freedom of expression in line with Bangladesh's commitments under the international human rights law."

Timeline

March 9:

Magura lawmaker files Digital Security Act case against Kajol.

March 10:

Kajol goes missing. CCTV footage reveals two unidentified individuals tampered with his bike.

March 10-11:

Two more DSA cases filed against Kajol by two Jubo Mahila League activists.

May 3:

BGB "finds" the photojournalist wandering near the Indian border in the middle of night.

May 4:

Kajol charged with trespassing and illegal entry; he secures bail but police arrest him under Section 54 of CrPC.

May 18:

Jashore District Chief Judicial Magistrate Court denies him bail.

June 14:

3 separate virtual courts in Dhaka does not hold bail hearings as police did not officially arrest Kajol in the DSA cases.

June 24:

Metropolitan Magistrate Dhiman Chandra Mondol of Virtual Court-4 denies Kajol bail.

June 28:

Metropolitan Magistrate Debdash Chandra Adhikary denies the photojournalist bail, places him on two-day remand.

July 29:

Metropolitan Magistrate Baki Billah of Virtual Court-6 denies Kajol bail.

August 24, Sept 9 and Sept 14:

Judge KM Emrul Kayesh of Metropolitan Sessions Judge's Court denies Kajol bail thrice.

October 19:

High Court questions why Kajol should not be granted bail.

November 24:

HC grants Kajol bail in one case and ordered investigation officer and Cyber Tribunal to submit reports.

December 17:

HC grants Kajol bail in the remaining two cases, clearing the way for him to be released from jail.

Yesterday: Kajol finally walks out of Dhaka Central Jail in Keraniganj.