Probir Sikdar sent to jail

A Faridpur court on Monday sent journalist Probir Sikdar to jail in a defamation case, while rights groups staged demonstrations protesting at his arrest and demanded his immediate and unconditional release.
Faridpur Kotwali police produced the journalist before the court of senior judicial magistrate Md Hamidul Islam, and sought ten days remand to interrogate him in a case filed against him under the Information and Communication Technology Act.
The court fixed Tuesday to hear on the remand plea and ordered Probir to jail.
A team of Detective Branch of police arrested Probir Sikdar from his Indira Road office in the city on Sunday, hours after a Faridpur Awami League leader filed a case against him with Faridpur Kotwali police station under the Information and Communication Technology Act.
He was taken to Faridpur Kotwali police station Monday morning.
Plaintiff of the case, Swapan Kumar Paul, in his case statement said Probir in a Facebook status claimed to be under threat and said that LGRD minister Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain, businessman Moosa bin Shamser and condemned fugitive war criminal Abul Kalam Azad would be responsible if he was killed.
Protestors threatened to go for tougher movement if the arrested journalist was not released within the next 24 hours.
Ganajagaran Mancha spokesman Dr Imran H Sarker on Monday alleged the government had tarnished the image of the liberation war of 1971 and grabbed at freedom of speech by arresting journalist Prabir Shikdar without any logical reason.
‘We become worried when an innocent journalist, also a son of a freedom fighter is arrested for taking a stand against war criminals. The government is tarnishing the liberation war through this type of activities,’ he claimed
Imran was speaking at a rally at Shabagh protesting at the arrest.
Terming the ICT Act a ‘Black act’, he alleged law enforcers, instigated by the government, could arrest anyone using this black act, where bail is completely not allowed.
Dhaka Union of Journalists faction organised a protest rally in front of National Press Club in the morning. Members of the journalist community, free thinkers and family members of the arrested journalist joined the rally demanding immediate release of the journalist.
He said they would hold another protest rally at in front of the National Press Club at 12pm on Tuesday and declare further programmes to realise their demand.
Claiming her husband ‘innocent’, Anita Sikdar, wife of the arrested journalist, demanded immediate release of her husband.
Ain o Salish Kendra, a human rights organisation, in a statement strongly protested at the arrest of Probir Sikdar and said it was unfortunate that police arrested the journalist instead of providing security to him.
The statement said the journalist failing to get security of his life from the police posted a status on his Facebook page about his concerns.
ASK demanded immediate release of the journalist who lost one leg in an attack by miscreants
in 2001.
Leaders of Communist Party of Bangladesh in a statement expressed concern over the arrest of the journalist and threatened to go for a movement along with the people against the atrocities of the present government if the journalist was not released.
Journalists Association of Rajshahi University in a statement condemned the arrest of Probir Sikdar and sought his unconditional release.