Prothom Alo Reporter Shams Granted Bail in DSA Case

A Dhaka court on Sunday granted bail to Prothom Alo reporter Shamsuzzaman Shams in a case filed under the Digital Security Act (DSA), reports UNB.  

Dhaka Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Asaduzzaman Nur granted the bail on a bond of Tk 20,000.

A Dhaka court on Thursday sent him to jail rejecting his bail petition. Another petition was filed on Monday seeking bail.

Later, the journalist was shifted to Kashimpur Central Jail from Keraniganj on March 31. Meanwhile, he was taken back to Dhaka Central Jail in Keraniganj from Kashimpur Central Jail on April 1.

On March 29, members of Criminal Investigation Department (CID) in plainclothes picked up Shams from his residence in Ambagan area, adjacent to Jahangirnagar University, around 4:30 am.

The same day, a Jubo League leader filed a case under the Digital Security Act against Shams, accusing him of publishing a "false and fabricated report" on the Prothom Alo website.

On March 29, an FIR was filed by a lawyer named Abdul Malek (Mashiur Malek), accusing Prothom Alo editor Matiur Rahman, reporter Shamsuzzaman Shams, an unnamed “assistant cameraman”, and unnamed others of “using print, online, and electronic media to tarnish the image and reputation of the state.”

In the FIR, the lawyer also mentioned that the accused were “purposefully spreading misinformation to deteriorate the law and order situation of the country.”

The High Court on Sunday granted six weeks anticipatory bail to Prothom Alo Editor and Publisher Matiur Rahman in a case filed under the Digital Security Act.