CPJ calls for immediate and unconditional release of journalist Anis Alamgir

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has called for the immediate and unconditional release of journalist Anis Alamgir, withdrawing the charges filed under the anti-terrorism law. In a statement on Wednesday, the US-based journalist rights organization expressed deep concern about the commitment of the interim government of Bangladesh to media freedom.

In a statement, the CPJ said that the arrest of a journalist under the anti-terrorism law just months before the national elections raises serious questions about the government's commitment to media freedom, one of the pillars of democracy. The organization called on the Bangladeshi authorities to immediately release Anis Alamgir and stop the trend of targeting journalists for anti-government criticism.

Anis Alamgir has worked in various media outlets, including Ajker Kagoj. Recently, he has been criticizing various actions and statements of the government on television talk shows and social media.

On December 14, the Metropolitan Detective Police of Dhaka arrested Anis Alamgir. Later, a member of an organization called 'July Revolutionary Alliance' filed a complaint against Anis Alamgir and four others at the police station. The complaint was later accepted as an Anti-Terrorism Act case and Anis Alamgir was arrested.

He is currently being interrogated on a five-day remand. Various human rights and civil society organizations, including Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB), Ain O Salish Kendra, have condemned his arrest.