Police arrest three journalists over report in Bangladesh
Police in Bangladesh have arrested three journalists for involvement in the publication of a report that addressed online rumors on the death of the prime minister’s son, amid criticism that the government is cracking down on media.
A Bangladeshi official said on Monday that the Rapid Action Battalion conducted a raid against the offices of the news portal banglamail24.com in the capital city of Dhaka on Sunday evening, and arrested its executive editor and two other journalists.
The arrests came hours after the news website cited rumors published on a Facebook page that Sajeeb Wazed Joy, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s son, had died in a plane crash. Banglamail24.com, however, highlighted that the rumors were false.
Mufti Mahmud Khan, a spokesman for the RAB, said, “We have picked them up for questioning about the news they have published,” referring to the journalists. “After the questioning ends, we will be able to tell you more about it.”
The online news service’s office appeared to be shut as it had not been updated on Monday and phone calls to the offices went unanswered.
The Bangladeshi government has recently been accused of censorship and cracking down on the media after Dhaka shut down 32 news websites over “objectionable contents.”
The country has also prevented the live television coverage of terrorist attacks following a hostage-taking incident in a café in Dhaka last month, which left 22 people, including 18 foreigners, dead.
The coverage that the incident did receive was slammed by Prime Minister Hasina, who urged private broadcasters to be more responsible.
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