BANGLADESH: Army releases Daily Star investigative reporter and blogger

Friday, May 11, 2007

Human Rights Watch reported that their Bangladesh researcher Tasneem Khalil, who is also an investigative reporter for The Daily Star, was held for one day after being taken from his home in Dhaka late Friday night.

Four men took Khalil, 26, to the Sangsad Bhavan army camp, outside the parliament building in Dhaka, the U.S.-based nongovernmental organization said.

The Daily Star editor Mahfuz Anam said in a statement that authorities told him that Khalil was being questioned for the contents of his personal blog and the content of text messages, or SMSes, rather than his journalistic work.

Khalil's blog is at times critical of the government and security forces. He also wrote a report for Human Rights Watch called "Judge, Jury, and Executioner: Torture and Extrajudicial Killings by Bangladesh's Elite Security Force." The report detailed the attacks Rapid Action Battalion (RAB), an anti-crime force, made against corrupt officials.

Human Rights Watch said that the men did not have a warrant but searched Khalil's house and took his computers and documents. Sharmin Afsana Shuchi, Khalil's wife, said in an email that her husband had been taken in the middle of the night by men identifying themselves as part of the "joint forces." Khalil has not yet been charged with any crime, but Human Rights Watch officials say they are monitoring the situation.

"The Bangladeshi military should be on notice that its actions are being closely watched by the outside world," Brad Adams, Asia director of Human Rights Watch, is quoted saying in the organization's press release. "Any harm to Tasneem Khalil will seriously undermine the army's claims to legitimacy and upholding the rule of law."

Fred Abrahams, a senior researcher for Human Rights Watch, told AsiaMedia via phone that Human Rights Watch is investigating Khalil's detainment before choosing a course of action.

"It all depends if he will face charges, but for now we don't know what will happen," Abrahams told AsiaMedia via phone.

"The apparent military arrest of such a prominent and well-respected journalist as Tasneem Khalil without any stated cause is an indication of the fragile state of press freedom in Bangladesh," Committee to Protect Journalists Executive Director Joel Simon said in a press release.

Khalil's arrest was the latest in a string of military actions against journalists. According to Human Rights Watch, Khalil was called into questioning by military intelligence last week.