A Dhaka court today asked the Police Bureau of Investigation (PBI) to probe the case against Prothom Alo journalist Rozina Islam for attempting to “illegally collect sensitive government documents and taking photos of them.”
Dhaka Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Muhammad Tofazzal Hossain passed the order after accepting the no-confidence petition filed by deputy secretary to the Health Services Division of the health ministry.
The court also fixed February 28 for the next hearing.
Rozina, who is now out on bail, was present before the court, said her lawyer Prashanto Karmakar.
Hearing on DB report in journalist Rozina’s case deferred to Jan 15
On October 11, last year, Detective Branch submitted the final report seeking exemption of Rozina from the charges.
Rozina, known for her reports on the health sector, was held at the Secretariat for over five hours before being handed over to police on May 17, 2021.
She allegedly clicked photos of documents related to government negotiation to buy Covid-19 vaccines, according to the case documents.
An FIR was filed against Rozina under the Official Secrets Act and sections 379 and 411 of the Penal Code.
On May 18, 2021, a Dhaka court sent Rozina to jail after rejecting the police’s demand for her five-day remand. Rozina was taken to Kashimpur Central Women’s Jail on that day.
On May 23, 2021, she walked out of Kashimpur Women’s Central Jail after securing interim bail from a Dhaka court.
Source: United News of Bangladesh