BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia on Friday protested the closure of the printing press of the daily Inqilab by the government and the arrest of its three journalists. She made the protest in a statement signed by party assistant office secretary Abdul Latif Jony and expressed grave concern over the police raid on its office terming the daily as one of the most age-old newspapers of Bangladesh. “The freedom of expression and press is recognised as democratic rights in civilised democratic society. All rights of the people have been snatched in a fascist way during the tenure of the incumbent government,” Khaleda said. Earlier, the Awami League government shut down the country’s popular newspaper ‘Dainik Amar Desh’ and kept its editor Mahmudur Rahman detained. Besides, private satellite television channels ‘Channel One’ ‘Diganta TV’ and ‘Islamic TV’ were also shutdown, she noted. “Such injustice and nefarious activities to repress the opposition parties and dissident views is never good for democracy,” the BNP chief said. Khaleda demanded immediate reopening of all the closed media houses, including ‘Inqilab’ and unconditional release of all the arrested journalists. Earlier on Thursday evening, police arrested the four journalists of the Inqilab and sealed off its printing press conducting a raid on its office in the capital’s RK Mission Road. – UNB
