Bangladesh Police arrested Arif Hasan, the Managing Director of Desh TV, a private Bangladeshi satellite television channel, in connection with a murder case. He was taken into custody on November 16 at Dhaka’s Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport.
The Deputy Commissioner (Media and Public Relations) of Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP), Talebur Rahman, confirmed the arrest. According to Talebur Rahman, Arif Hasan is implicated in an attempted murder case related to a protest organized by the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement.
Arif Hasan, who also serves as the General Secretary of the Association of Television Channel Owners (ATCO), is accused of involvement in an attack on students during the protests on July 19, which were part of a recent mass uprising.
Moreover, On August 5, following the fall of Sheikh Hasina’s government, multiple murder cases were filed against several prominet journalists. Various journalist organizations have criticized these cases, stating that such indiscriminate murder charges against journalists constitute a misuse of the law and a violation of the interim government’s commitment to free journalism.
Recently Bangladesh Interim Government, Led by Prof Dr. Muhammad Yunus, has revoked the accreditation of 167 journalists in three separate phases.
The Editors’ Council of Bangladesh urged the Ministry of Information to refrain from such blanket measures. It also demanded stronger steps to ensure independent and democratic journalism in the country.
Earlier last week, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) expressed concern over Nobel laureate Prof. Muhammad Yunus led interim government of Bangladesh’s decision to scrap the permanent and temporary press accreditation cards of 50 journalists. The international organization, which works globally to protect journalists’ rights, said that the interim authorities should not use press accreditation as a weapon to target journalists for their work. Such actions could lead to increased risks of media censorship, warned The CPJ.
