On July 21, 2026, Shahbagh police arrested Hafizur Rahman (H R Shafique), Special Correspondent for Dainik Dhaka Protidin, from Moghbazar under the controversial Cyber Security Act following an investigative report concerning the Fire Service and Civil Defence Department. According to family and colleagues, Shahbagh Police Station Sub-Inspector Ziaoul actively pursued Rahman immediately after the report’s publication before detaining him at night. Eyewitnesses reported that during the arrest, a private television journalist and the plaintiff—Fire Service employee Saddam—publicly abused and mentally harassed Rahman before he was loaded into a police van. In a joint statement, Dhaka Metropolitan Crime Reporters Society Secretary General Mohammad Masud and Dhaka Press Club General Secretary Sadek Mohammad Pavel strongly condemned the arrest and harassment as a severe blow to press freedom, demanding Rahman’s immediate and unconditional release, a neutral investigation, and legal action against those who harassed him.
Sources: 1. Daily Apan Desh, 2. Dhaka Protidin
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This information has been collected from open sources. Bangladesh Media Monitor has not independently verified the claims presented.