Shams was arrested for ‘child abuse, exploitation’

The foreign ministry yesterday said Prothom Alo reporter Samsuzzaman Shams was arrested for "child abuse" and "child exploitation" and the claim that he was arrested for reporting on the cost of living crisis in Bangladesh was "false".

In a press release issued on Friday, it said reports by foreign media saying Samsuzzaman was arrested for his reporting were "fabricated".

He was sent to jail on Thursday in a case filed with Ramna Police Station under three sections of the Digital Security Act -- 25(2), 31 and 35.

In another DSA case, filed with Tejgaon Police Station a few hours before being picked up from his Savar home, Shams was charged under the same three sections and two more -- sections 26(2) and 29.

However, none of these five sections deals with child exploitation or abuse.

Prothom Alo Editor and Publisher Matiur Rahman was also accused in the case filed with Ramna police.

"Many media [platforms] have been continuously reporting on the cost of living in Bangladesh since the beginning of the Ukraine war, which has created a global rise in the cost of living. No one was arrested for such reporting," the release said.

"The said journalist [Samsuzzaman] was arrested because of child abuse and child exploitation, as he offered Tk 10 to a 9-year-old boy and then expressed his own views in the child's name.

"Secondly, he tried to undermine the independence of Bangladesh on the great Independence Day. These acts are surely tantamount to punishable crimes," it added.

The release further read, "The government of Bangladesh is committed to uphold the freedom of expression for all its citizens and the media. However, creating social unrest by undertaking such a fraudulent act is contrary to the spirit of honest journalism."

The foreign ministry said that as a party to the UN Convention on the Right of the Child, the government would not tolerate any act of exploiting children.

According to the first information report of the DSA case filed with Ramna police, Shams, Matiur and unnamed others were accused of using print, online, and electronic media to tarnish the image of the state.