Prothom Alo senior journalist Rozina Islam has been cleared of the charges in an Official Secrets Act case.
Dhaka Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Sultan Sohag Uddin today exempted Rozina, accepting a final report in the case, a court staffer told The Daily Star.
Earlier in the day, the Police Bureau of Investigation (PBI) submitted the final report before the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate’s Court of Dhaka, clearing Rozina of the charges in the case.
The development came six days after the interim government led by Nobel Laureate Prof Muhammad Yunus took oath after the resignation of Sheikh Hasina as prime minister on August 5.
On May 17, 2021, Rozina was sued by a deputy secretary of the Health Services Division on allegations of stealing and capturing photos of “highly sensitive” government documents.
Investigation Officer Morshed Hossain Khan, also an inspector of the Detective Branch of police, on July 4, 2022, submitted the final report to the court, praying to it to relieve Rozina of the charges.
On January 23 last year, a court ordered the PBI for further investigation into the case, following a no-confidence petition filed by the complainant.
In the probe report, the PBI’s investigator said no evidence was found against Rozina and the case was a matter of factual error.
The filing of the case with Shahbagh Police Station on May 17, 2021, drew flak from netizens and a cross-section of people.
It also triggered strong protests from journalists and different local and international organisations.
Deputy Secretary Shibbir Ahmed Osmani lodged the case under the colonial-era act, which criminalises sharing of government information.
The journalist’s family members and her office, however, denied the allegations and said she was framed by the authorities.
Rozina, a special correspondent of the Bangla daily, wrote several in-depth reports on corruption in the health sector during the Covid-19 pandemic.
She was confined to the health ministry inside the Secretariat for more than five hours on May 17, 2021, before being handed over to the Shahbagh Police Station.
She walked out of jail on bail almost a week after her arrest.
