I wrote in June about the plight of Shafik Rehman, the 81-year-old British-Bangladeshi journalist who was being held in custody in Bangladesh without charge.
Now 26 press freedom groups from around the world have called on Bangladesh’s justice minister to free Rehman from prison in Dhaka, registering their “serious concerns” about his treatment.
The signatories include Index on Censorship, the International Federation of Journalists and Reporters Without Borders. Reprieve, the human rights organisation responsible for coordinating the letter, fears Rehman could be charged with offences that carry the death penalty.
The call comes ahead of a Bangladesh supreme court hearing later this month in which Rehman’s lawyers will apply for bail.
At the time of his arrest on 16 April, Rehman was editor of the popular monthly magazine Mouchake Dhil. He has worked previously for the BBC and edited Jai Jai Din, a mass-circulation Bengali daily.
It is believed he was detained because police have linked him to a conspiracy to murder the son of the Bangladesh prime minister, Sheikh Hasina.
His family have denied the claims, while his supporters have described the arrest as politically motivated.
Reprieve says: ‘Mr Rehman is a professional journalist who has spent a lifetime working for freedom of expression. His arrest represents an attack on press freedoms and forms part of a worrying trend in Bangladesh, where several prominent editors have been arrested in recent years.”
Harriet McCulloch, deputy director of Reprieve’s death penalty team, spoke of Rehman’s deteriorating health and called on the justice minister to “listen to the international concern around Shafik’s treatment.”
