Protests across country over Dhaka Tribune journalist’s arrest, torture

Journalists staged demonstrations across the country yesterday protesting the arrest of Dhaka Tribune journalist Ariful Islam from his house at midnight and his one-year jail sentence.

Ataur Rahman Biplob, general secretary of Kurigram Press Club, said it is not believable that drugs were recovered from Ariful's house, considering he doesn't even smoke cigarettes.

"We demand his unconditional release. We will protest unless the authorities release him within 24 hours," he said yesterday.

Journalists and locals formed a human chain in front of the Shaheed Minar in Kurigram district town. 

Meanwhile, Bangladesh Federal Union of Journalists and Dhaka Union of Journalists today protested the arrest of Ariful.

In a joint statement, Bangladesh Federal Union of Journalists (BFUJ) and Dhaka Union of Journalists (DUJ) condemned the arrest and jailing of journalist Ariful Islam.

The statement, signed by BFUJ joint secretary general Abdul Majid, was issued in this regard yesterday.

The Narayanganj District Journalist Union also expressed indignation over the incident. President Abdus Salam, at a human chain, demanded swift identification and punishment of those responsible for the crime.

Terming the jailing of Dhaka Tribune journalist Ariful Islam by a mobile court, set up in the dead of night, as unlawful, Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) has urged the authorities concerned to address the allegations and ensure justice for the journalist.

In a press statement, the anti-corruption campaigner said: “Such an act of the mobile court is illegal and an excessive misapplication of the laws of the country. This is entirely unconstitutional and a violation of the rule of law.”

This act entirely goes against the freedom of media in Bangladesh, reads the statement signed by TIB Executive Director Iftekharuzzaman.

Ariful Islam, the Kurigram district correspondent at Dhaka Tribune and online news portal Bangla Tribune, was sent to jail soon after the mobile court, set up at the office of the Kurigram deputy commissioner, ended its trial proceedings yesterday morning.