Harassment of Rozina regrettable

Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen has said the harassment and arrest of Prothom Alo senior reporter Rozina Islam is very regrettable.

He said a few employees caused such an incident and the law and foreign ministries would have to face many questions for this.

Momen hoped such an incident would not happen again.

The minister was talking to reporters yesterday after a meeting with Korean Ambassador to Dhaka Lee Jang-keun at the State Guest House Padma.

Rozina was confined to a room at the health ministry office at the secretariat for about six hours on Monday before being handed to police and sued for "stealing documents".

The UN, global human rights organisations, activists, journalists, political and civil society platforms strongly criticised the harassment of the senior journalist; filing of the case under the colonial era Official Secrets Act; arrest and denial of bail.

Asked if he thought Bangladesh's image abroad was harmed due to the incident, Momen said, "This is very regrettable because the Sheikh Hasina government is very media-friendly. We always appreciate the media. We have nothing to hide. What has happened is very regrettable. The health ministry should manage it. It is regrettable for the government."

The minister said he could not say in detail about the incident as the matter is before the court.

Referring to the statement of Awami League Joint General Secretary Mahbul Alam Hanif, Momen said all his cabinet colleagues wanted justice for Rozina.

Hanif recently said the government should take legal actions against the corrupt rather than against journalists.

The foreign minister said the media was doing a lot for the country. He lauded the media for revealing corruption, including in purchase of pillows for Rooppur nuclear power plant project and treatment of novel coronavirus patients at a hospital owned by Shahed Karim.

Momen said the government took actions after the corruption was exposed. "Thus, you [journalists] are part of the government. You are helping the government by doing investigative reporting."

Asked if the health ministry can have any state-level sensitive documents, he said it can for sure. For example, documents containing information on co-production of Covid-19 vaccine, which cannot be made public, might be there, the minister added.

Meanwhile, Information Minister Hasan Mahmud yesterday said he would keep trying to ensure justice for Rozina.

The minister said this after leaders of Dhaka Reporters Unity and Bangladesh Secretariat Reporters Forum met him at his residence in the capital, reports our staff correspondent.

The journalist leaders urged the minister to ensure justice for Rozina. They demanded formation of an impartial probe body to investigate the incident, saying that they didn't have confidence in the committee formed by the health ministry, reads a memorandum submitted to the minister.

Hasan said he would discuss formation of a new and impartial probe committee with the authorities concerned.

"We will continue our efforts to ensure that Rozina Islam is treated respectfully and justice is ensured," he said.

In another development, Human Rights Watch yesterday called upon the Bangladesh authorities to drop all "oppressive charges" brought against journalist Rozina.

"Bangladesh authorities should produce evidence of wrongdoing or immediately release Rozina Islam and stop arresting journalists for doing their job, which is also to highlight governance flaws," said Brad Adams, HRW Asia director.

"Instead of locking up critics, encouraging a free press should be central to the government's strategy to strengthen health services in combatting the pandemic," he said.