Probir Sikdar put on 3-day remand

A court in Faridpur on Tuesday put journalist Probir Sikdar on a three-day remand in connection with a case filed under the Information and Communication Technology (amendment) Act 2013 while journalists and rights groups continued to demand his immediate release.
Judge of cognisance court-1 of chief judicial magistrate’s court M Hamidul Islam passed the order in a hearing on a petition filed by police seeking a 10-day remand for him.
Earlier, members of the detective branch of police picked up Probir Sikdar, owner of online newspaper ‘Uttaradhikar Ekattor News’, from his Indira Road office in the capital on Sunday evening.
Shortly afterwards, a case was filed with Kotwali Police Station of Faridpur against the journalist under the ICT Act.
Swapan Paul, adviser to the Puja Udjapan Committee of Faridpur, filed the case with Kotwali Police Station around 11:00pm.
The plaintiff in his case statement said Probir in a Facebook status claimed to be under threat and that LGRD minister Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain, Moosa bin Shamsher and condemned fugitive war criminal Abul Kalam Azad would be responsible if he was killed.
Committee to Protect Journalists said jailing journalists for publishing threats issued to them further undermines confidence in Bangladesh’s legal system.
CPJ Asia Program Research Associate Sumit Galhotra called on the authorities to immediately release the journalist and investigate the threats against him.
A fraction of the Bangladesh Federal Union of Journalists and Dhaka Union Journalists condemned arrest of Probir Sikdar and demanded his immediate release.
In a joint statement, they said Probir was the Faridpur correspondent of vernacular daily the Dainik Janakantha in 2001 when he wrote an article headlined ‘Sei Razakar’.
Probir lost one of his legs in a criminal attack before he started to live in Dhaka.
Information minister Hasanul Haq Inu said his ministry would look into whether there were any lapses in the administrative process that led to the arrest of Probir Sikder.
‘It is sad that senior journalist Probir Sikder has been arrested under the ICT law. But it does not mean the government is imposing restrictions on free flow of information and the freedom of the press,’ he said responding to a question at a press conference at the secretariat.
He said the information ministry would take steps to ensure that Probir gets legal assistance during the proceedings.
Home minister Asaduzzaman Khan said Probir’s facebook posting posed a threat to other’s life.
The journalist was arrested after a case was filed against him, he added.

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