Press Club president meets home minister over Rozina Islam

Police escort Prothom Alo journalist Rozina Islam, after she was reportedly detained for five hours at Bangladesh Secretariat on Monday, May 17, 2021 Collected

Home minister has assured that he will look into the situation, 

A delegation from the National Press Club, led by President Farida Yasmin and General Secretary Ilyas Khan along with Rozina Islam’s brother Md Selim, on Tuesday met with Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal over the Prothom Alo senior reporter’s arrest.

The home minister assured them at the meeting that Rozina Islam would be released on bail on Thursday.

He also said: “We don’t want any misunderstanding between the government and journalists. We also want a beautiful and fair solution.”

After the meeting, Farida Yasmin told reporters: “We have had open discussions with the home minister. Rozina was detained for 6 hours at the Health Ministry. She has been harassed in various ways. We want justice, no one has the right to harass anyone like this.

“I have talked about her bail, and to arrange for her proper treatment as she is sick,” she added.

Also read- Rozina: Being treated wrongfully for my reports on Health Ministry

Farida Yasmin further said the journalist should be kept in a safe environment while in prison. It should be ensured that she is not harassed in any way.

“He [the home minister] said that he will look into it as much as he can,” she said.

Farida Yasmin said the court would look into what Rozina Islam had done since the Health Ministry has filed the case. “But I strongly urge them to investigate whether they can harass her like they did.”

Ilyas Khan said: “Rozina Islam has been physically tortured. They said she was handed over to police half an hour later but was kept locked in a small room for several hours. She has been subjected to various forms of harassment, both mentally and physically. We have demanded that it be properly investigated.”

Meanwhile, Rozina’s elder brother Md Selim said: “We are worried about Rozina’s health. I met the home minister today and he assured us that arrangements would be made for Rozina’s treatment. We want to move forward with that hope.”