Rozina’s Arrest: Seizure list, FIR do not match

The seizure list of items allegedly seized from daily Prothom Alo's Senior Reporter Rozina Islam does not directly list any documents pertaining to non-disclosure agreements with China and Russia, as posited by the first information report of the case against the journalist.

The seizure list itemises four different types of documents.

The first document is a two-page letter sent by Bangladesh's permanent mission to Geneva.

The second item listed is a 56-page printout of a proposal sent by the director of the Central Medical Stores Depot regarding the purchase of medical equipment and supplies, essential for tackling Covid-19. The proposal was meant for the Cabinet Committee on Government Purchase, and was being sent for their approval of the purchase, said the seizure list.

The third item was a two-page summary regarding government purchases meant for the Cabinet Committee on Government Purchase.

The last document on the seizure list is a two-page photocopy of a memo concerning approval from the inter-ministerial consultative committee on Covid-19 vaccine procurement and distribution.

According to the first information report (FIR) of the case filed against Rozina by Shibbir Ahmed Osmani, a deputy secretary of the health ministry's health services division, the journalist is being accused of acquiring files that could ruin inter-country relations.

"Bangladesh is in the middle of negotiations with different countries regarding the purchasing and sourcing of vaccines, and is exchanging different memoranda of understanding (MoU) and non-disclosure agreements. Different letters and emails are being exchanged regarding the MoU containing information important to the government," said the FIR.

The only document related to vaccine procurement mentioned in the seizure list is the two-page photocopy.

According to the seizure list, which The Daily Star obtained, everything  "seized" from Rozina was actually recovered from the possession of  Health Services Division Additional Secretary Kazi Zebunnessa Begum.

On May 18, Health Minister Zahid Maleque said Rozina had removed documents that would harm the image of the country.

During the hearing of Rozina's bail petition yesterday, the state prosecution said Rozina was taking secret documents relating to China and Russia, and hiding them in "special places of her body".

"She stole sensitive information," said Assistant Public Prosecutor Hemayet Uddin Khan Heron.

"Even though she is a woman, she has embarrassed Bangladesh," he added.

The defence maintained that Rozina had a right to information.

Rozina wrote several in-depth reports on corruption in the health sector amid the pandemic, mostly pertaining to irregularities and corruption in purchase of live-saving Covid-19 supplies.

Rights bodies have insisted that Rozina is being targeted for her reporting. The largest document in the seizure list was a photocopy of information regarding public purchase of Covid-19 supplies.