Bangladeshi scribe arrested

By Haroon Habib

DHAKA, NOV. 24. A senior journalist and writer, Mr. Shahriar Kabir, was arrested and sent to the Dhaka Central jail by police on Friday on charges of anti-state activities.

After about 20 hours of confinement at the airport and at the Special Branch (SB) office following his arrival from Kolkata on Thursday, Mr. Kabir, also the acting president of the ``Ghatak- Dalal Nirmul Committee'', was produced before the Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Court on Friday. Later, he was sent to jail as the court rejected his bail. Police also seized Mr. Kabir's passport, five video cassettes, some audio CDs and cassettes, his camera and film.

Mr. Kabir, who has been campaigning against alleged post-election repression on minorities, went to Kolkata on November 11, where he spoke against the new government on issues of minority repression. Besides documenting interviews of the people who crossed over the border, he also gave interviews with several media, including the BBC, alleging atrocities on the religious minorities.

The detention of Mr. Kabir and his subsequent arrest has irked journalists and intellectuals, who called for a news conference at the National Press Club and criticised the government's action. ``We will also go for legal action against his detention'', Prof. Kabir Chowdhury, said.

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