The National Human Rights Commission of Bangladesh has strongly condemned the harassment of Prothom Alo’s journalist Rozina Islam who was confined in a room at the secretariat. The NHRC public relations department expressed this condemnation in a press release on Tuesday.

Prothom Alo’s senior reporter Rozina Islam was detained at the health ministry offices in the secretariat on Monday for over five hours and harassed when she went there on her profession duties. At one point she fell ill. Later police took her to the Shahbagh police station and filed a case against her under the Official Secrets Act. She has been shown arrested in this case.

The press release said, “According to media reports, Prothom Alo’s senior reporter Rozina Islam was harassed by being confined to the secretariat for five hours on allegations of taking photos of the government’s document on the coronavirus vaccine without permission. The National Human Rights Commission of Bangladesh strongly condemns the incident.”

The chairman of the Commission Nasima Begum said that confining a journalist to the room of the personal secretary of the Health Services Division secretary for long is condemnable. According to media reports, Rozina fell sick but no arrangement for her treatment was made. Rather, she had been detained for five hours which the commission considered inhuman.

The commission also sent a letter to the secretary of the health ministry’s Health Services Division seeking explanation, the press release said.