Investigative reporter arrested after exposing police corruption
MARCH 28, 2008
Posted April 25, 2008
Rabiul Islam, Daily Sunshine
ARRESTED, HARRASSED
Rabiul told CPJ he was arrested without warrant and detained by police, who accused him of committing robbery in Rajshahi. Rabiul, a journalist for the Daily Sunshine, a Rajshahi-based local newspaper in the Bangla Language, told CPJ by telephone that he reports regularly on police corruption. Rajshahi is in the northwest of Bangladesh, along the border with India.
Rabiul said he was taken into custody on March 28 by four police officers in plain cloths. Without identifying themselves or presenting a warrant they assaulted and handcuffed him and forcibly took him to Durgapur neighborhood police station. He was held for 12 hours and released after the complainant and members of his family gave a statement as to Rabiul’s good character.
Rabiul said police told members of his family that he was taken to the police station for a routine investigation of the robbery case, but Rabiul told CPJ he was harassed because of a recent report he had written. “I filed a number of stories implicating the Durgapur police force in alleged corruption and malpractice. Ishak Ali, office in charge and Khabir Hossain, sub inspector of Durgapur police station were punished by being transferred because of an investigative report I have done,” he said. Rabiul told CPJ he had been facing harassment since the cases were reported around September 2007.