Saleem Samad secretly transferred to new prison and accused of being part of "international conspiracy"

Reporters Without Borders (Reporters sans frontières) expressed its great concern today for the physical safety of journalist Saleem Samad after the government sent him secretly to a prison in Gazipur, north of Dhaka, more than a month after being arrested for working with journalists from the British TV station Channel 4.

"Islamist and hardline newspapers are feeding false news to their readers about a supposed international plot against Bangladesh but the government had not managed to come up with a shred of evidence against Samad," said Reporters Without Borders secretary-general Robert Ménard in a letter to interior minister Altaf Hossein Chowdhury.

"We demand that the rule of law be respected and that the High Court order to release Samad be obeyed," he said.

"How can your government accuse Samad, who works for Pakistan's Daily Times and the Indian news website Tehelka.com, which is being harassed by the Indian government, of being a secret agent of India in a plot against Bangladesh ?" he asked. "It just doesn't add up."

Samad's family told Reporters Without Borders that he had been secretly transferred on 1 January from Dhaka prison to one in Gazipur (60 kms north of Dhaka). They and his lawyer have not been allowed to see him for the past week.

The government has until 7 January to answer a request by the High Court to provide its reason for continuing to hold Samad under the Special Powers Act. But police and state security agents seem unable to produce any evidence against him.

The High Court ordered him to be released on bail on 24 December but the government refused to do so and on 31 December tried to get court permission to take him back to police headquarters for further interrogation. He was tortured during earlier questioning.

Islamist newspapers, especially the dailies Inquilab and Sangram, continue to accuse Samad and other journalists of being part of an "international plot" against Bangladesh. They and another paper, Manavzamin, each published an identical article on 31 December about an "international conspiracy" led by the Channel 4 team, including Samad, and the Indian secret service.

Hundreds of journalists have called for Samad's release by signing an international petition available at the website www.rsf.org and many other appeals, including one from Channel 4, have been sent to the government. Amnesty International has also launched an international campaign for his release.

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