Bangladesh: media worker arrested for covering cost of living
Event- Country
- Bangladesh
- Initial Date
- Mar 29, 2023
- Event Description
On 29 March, Bangladeshi journalist Shamsuzzaman Shams was picked up from his residence by a group in civil clothes that identified as the Criminal Investigations Department for an online article he wrote for newspaper Prothom Alo on 26 March, Bangladesh’s Independence Day, covering the rising cost of living. If convicted, he faces up to seven years in prison. His whereabouts were unknown for about 10 hours, after which the police stated that he was in custody and is being charged under Bangladesh’s draconian Digital Security Act. This is a blatant violation of the right to freedom of expression, and Shamsuzzaman Shams must be immediately released.
Update: Shamsuzzaman Shams was granted bail on 3 April 2023.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Man
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention
- Abduction/Kidnapping
- Enactment of repressive legislation and policies
- Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- Freedom of expression
- Online
- Right to liberty and security
- Freedom of expression
- HRD
- Media Worker
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Event Location
Latitude: 23.76104811099153
Longitude: 90.38813664568464
- Event Location
- Summary for Publications
On 29 March 2023, Shamsuzzaman Shams, media worker, was arrested by the police on a repressive law for covering cost of living after being held incommunicado for 10 hours in Dhaka, Bangladesh.