February 26, 2023
To: Mr. Asaduzzaman Khan, Minister of Home Affairs People’s Republic of Bangladesh, Mr. Zahid Maleque, Minister of Health and Family Welfare People’s Republic of Bangladesh
Dear Ministers Khan and Maleque,
We, the undersigned press freedom and human rights groups, write to
seek your leadership in ensuring an immediate end to the harassment of
Bangladeshi journalist and human rights defender Rozina Islam. Islam faces
an ongoing investigation under the colonial-era Official Secrets Act
and the penal code in apparent retaliation for merely exercising her
right to freedom of expression through her reporting on alleged
government corruption and irregularities in the public health sector at
the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic. If formally charged and convicted
under the Official Secrets Act, Islam faces up to 14 years in prison, or
a death sentence. Islam was arbitrarily detained
for seven days in May 2020, when a health ministry official filed the
complaint accusing the journalist of taking photos of official documents
in the ministry’s secretariat, leading to the ongoing investigation.
Since her release on bail, Islam has been routinely summoned for court appearances, many of which have been unduly delayed and rescheduled
in violation of her right to a fair trial as guaranteed under Article
14 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR),
to which Bangladesh is a state party. In August 2021, the Bangladesh
Financial Intelligence Unit asked banks to provide transaction details of any accounts held by Islam, in an apparent move to further intimidate the journalist.
Islam continues to face unlawful restrictions on her right to freedom
of movement in violation of Article 12 of the ICCPR. She was granted
bail on the condition that she surrender her passport, imposing an
effective travel ban despite the fact that there is no provision for
conditional bail in the Code of Criminal Procedure. In January 2022, a
Dhaka court temporarily permitted
the return of her passport for six months. Since then, however, Islam
has been obliged to request her passport from the court whenever she
plans to travel abroad.
After 14 months of investigation, the detective branch of the Dhaka police submitted its final report to court in July 2022,
and called for the case against Islam to be dropped due to lack of
evidence. Seven months later, in January 2023, the health ministry
official filed a naraji (no-confidence)
petition against the detective branch’s report, in response to which
the court directed the Police Bureau of Investigation to further
investigate Islam. We are deeply disturbed by a government official’s
use of a naraji petition to prolong the investigation of a
journalist under a national security law, particularly given that police
have failed to produce a charge sheet or present any concrete evidence
indicating that she has committed a crime.
Islam’s work, for which she received
the United States Department of State’s Anti-Corruption Champions Award
in 2022, is a public service, not a crime, and should be protected
under Sections 4 and 5 of the Disclosure of Public Interest Information (Protection) Act.
We urge the authorities to fully respect and protect the human rights
of journalist and human rights defender Rozina Islam, including her
right to a fair trial, and to immediately cease all forms of judicial
harassment against her, facilitating the return of her passport from
judicial custody, and ensuring that she is not subjected to further
retaliation for her work.
Addresses:
Mr. Asaduzzaman Khan, MP Minister of Home Affairs People’s Republic of Bangladesh minister@mha.gov.bd
Mr. Zahid Maleque, MP Minister of Health and Family Welfare People’s Republic of Bangladesh minister@mohfw.gov.bd
CC: Mr. Anisul Haq Minister of Law, Justice, and Parliament People’s Republic of Bangladesh secretary@lawjusticediv.gov.bd
CC: Mr. A.K. Abdul Momen, MP Minister of Foreign Affairs People’s Republic of Bangladesh fm@mofa.gov.bd
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