From Anis Alamgir to Farzana Rupa: Growing Alarm Over Journalist Arrests

Journalist Anis Alamgir was taken into custody by the Detective Branch (DB) for questioning, and within hours a case was filed against him by an individual, accusing him of “conspiring to destabilize the state.”

Despite several attempts over two months, he has not been granted bail. In the meantime, the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has filed a case against Anis Alamgir on charges of acquiring illegal wealth.

His wife, Shahnaz Chowdhury, claims that her husband is being forced to remain in jail solely because of exercising freedom of expression.

“Adviser to the interim government Syeda Rizwana Hasan claimed that no journalist had been arrested for freedom of expression. Then why was Anis Alamgir arrested? He has been arrested precisely for exercising freedom of expression. Is Anis Alamgir a terrorist, or did he make any provocative statement? What happened that he had to be called in and then arrested?”

On December 14, after 8:00 pm, a team of Detective Police took journalist Anis Alamgir to the DB office for questioning.

Later that night, a member of an organization called the July Revolutionary Alliance, Aryan Ahmed, filed a case under the Anti-Terrorism Act against Anis Alamgir and three others, accusing them of “conspiring to destabilize the state and inciting a banned organization.”

The other accused are actress Meher Afroz Shaon, fashion model Maria Kispotta, and presenter Imtu Ratish Imtiaz.

In this case, Anis Alamgir was granted five days of remand. After the remand ended, he was sent to jail on December 20. Since then, he has remained in prison.

Shahnaz Chowdhury said that in the Anti-Terrorism Act case, Anis Alamgir is not the only accused; several others are also named. “They are moving around freely, but Anis Alamgir has to remain in jail. He has been arrested for freedom of expression.”

Meanwhile, on January 15, the ACC filed a case against Anis Alamgir on charges of illegal wealth accumulation.

On January 25, the investigation officer, ACC Assistant Director Akhtaruzzaman, applied to show Anis Alamgir arrested in this case. The court fixed January 28 for a hearing in the presence of the accused. Later that day, he was shown arrested in the case.

Regarding this case, Shahnaz Chowdhury said, “He had received a plot from the government under the journalist quota. He sold it and received some money. For this reason, the ACC filed a case against him. This is also a false case.”

Anis Alamgir’s lawyer, Taslima Jahan Popy, said, “We have seen that usually the government or the state files cases under the Anti-Terrorism Act. But in Anis Alamgir’s case, it was filed by an individual. And the section under which the case was filed does not apply to him.

“He has no involvement with any banned organization. They filed the case and arrested him as they wished. We have sought bail, but he did not get bail. We have approached the High Court. We hope he will be granted bail.”

In response to a question, she said, “The government is not granting him bail. That is why he is not getting bail.”

Anisur Rahman Alamgir—widely known as Anis Alamgir—has worked for Daily Ajker Kagoj and various other media outlets.

A part-time university teacher, Anis Alamgir had been the subject of discussion and criticism for his statements on television talk shows regarding contemporary politics and other issues. His various Facebook posts had also sparked debate at the time.

In addition, concerns have been raised over other journalists and media figures reportedly detained without trial, including Farzana Rupa, Mozammel Babu, Shyamal Dutta, and Mahbub Shakil, further intensifying debate over freedom of expression and media rights in the country.