Editors’ Council condemns arrest of journalist Anis Alamgir

 
The Editors' Council has strongly condemned the arrest of senior journalist Anis Alamgir and said that it stoked the memories of state repression against journalists during the past Awami League regime.

In a statement on Monday, the council expressed deep concern over Anis Alamgir being summoned to the Detective Branch (DB) office without specific charges and subsequently arrested under the Anti-Terrorism Act.

"We have witnessed such practices in the past during the Awami League government. At that time, false cases, harassment, and indiscriminate arrests against journalists were regular occurrences. The current incident is a repetition of that regrettable reality," said the statement.

The Editors' Council said, Anis was called to the DB office on December 14, detained there, and shown arrested the following day in a case filed under the Anti-Terrorism Act.

Terming the action "unacceptable," the Editors' Council said that if there are specific allegations against a journalist, they must be resolved through the conventional legal process and justice system, not by summoning them to the DB office and detaining them without charges.

The statement also highlighted that following the fall of the Sheikh Hasina regime on August 5, 2024, numerous journalists were implicated in "false murder cases," with many still imprisoned.