There has been widespread uproar after Mizanur Rahman Sohel, online head of the daily Bhorer Kagoj and secretary of the Online Editors’ Alliance, was taken from his home in the middle of the night and held in custody by plainclothes officers claiming to be from the Detective Branch (DB) of the police.
He was reportedly kept in DB custody on Minto Road for 10 hours before being released into the custody of his wife on Wednesday morning. The precise reason for his midnight detention from his home in North Badda, and subsequent release without charges, remains unclear.
Supreme Court lawyer Jyotirmoy Barua told TIMES of Bangladesh, “Under Section 107 of the CrPC, the police may summon someone for questioning. However, there must be a specific written criminal complaint.”
“The DB police, as before, have taken Mizan from his home unlawfully. This is a professional threat and unethical. Journalists already face pressure, and this incident will only increase it,” he said.
He added that reports suggest the involvement of an adviser, but “concrete evidence” is required.
UK-based Bangladeshi journalist Zulkarnain Saer wrote on his verified Facebook page that Sohel had been taken by DB officers following instructions from Foyez Ahmed Tayyab, chief adviser’s special assistant for telecommunications and IT. Tayyab has denied the allegation.
Mohammad Nasirul Islam, DB joint commissioner, told TIMES, “The DB chief took the journalist Sohel to gather some information. After talking to him, he was sent back home.”
Sohel’s wife, Sumaiya Sima, said the officers did not show any warrant. They told her the DB chief (Additional Commissioner Shafiqul Islam) wished to speak with him and that he would be returned home after the conversation. Later, attempts to reach an officer named Ashraful by phone were unsuccessful.
After his release on Wednesday morning, Sohel wrote on his verified Facebook page, “Last night (Tuesday) I was forcibly taken from my home under the pretext of talking to the DB chief and kept in custody for more than 10 hours. I was placed with DB detainees, my shoes and belt were removed, but neither I nor the officials knew why I had been detained.”
“My detention was primarily aimed at preventing a press conference about the National Equipment Identification Register (NEIR). The plan endangers 25,000 mobile phone businesses across the country just to benefit nine traders, and will harm rural people and expatriates if implemented,” he said.
DB Chief Md Shafiqul Islam told TIMES that during an event management programme, Sohel’s mobile number had mistakenly been listed on an invitation card. After being taken to the DB office, Sohel realised the error, and he was released into the custody of his wife via his organisation’s leaders.
