DHAKA, Bangladesh
The jailing of a Bangladeshi journalist on Monday for criticizing a government minister has been criticized by press rights activists.
In a statement on Monday night, the U.S.-based Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) called for the immediate release of Probir Sikdar, the editor of an online news site, after a regional court ordered he remain in custody until his hearing.
Sikdar was charged with libelling local government minister Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain for a Facebook post in which he blamed Hossain and two others after police refused to accept a complaint for receiving death threats.
"Jailing journalists for publishing threats made against them further undermines confidence in Bangladesh's legal system," said Sumit Galhotra, a CPJ researcher on its Asia program.
Sikdar became the second person in a week to be jailed for a critical Facebook post about the government. A university teacher was found guilty, in absentia, for supposedly wishing death on the country's prime minister Sheikh Hasina.
Local news portal bdnews24 reported that Sikdar was charged under the Information and Communication Technology act, which allows criminal charges for any online posting that "tarnishes the image of the state or any person".
