It has been brought to the notice of the Government of Bangladesh that a few international media and institutions are claiming that a journalist in Bangladesh, named Mr. Shamsuzzaman, has been arrested as he wrote about the ‘cost of living in Bangladesh’. This information is false and fabricated. This journalist was arrested because of ‘child abuse’ and ‘child exploitation’.
Many media have been continuously reporting on the cost of living every day in Bangladesh since the beginning of the Ukraine War which has created a global rise in the cost of living. No one is arrested due to such reporting. The journalist was arrested because of child abuse and exploitation, as he offered ten takes to a a9-year-oldd boy and then expressed his views in the name of that child. That is surely an act of child abuse and exploitation. Secondly, he tried to undermine the independence of Bangladesh on the great Independence Day. These acts are surely tantamount to punishable crimes.
The Government of Bangladesh is committed to uphold freedom of expression for all its citizens and the media. However, creating social unrest by undertaking such fraudulent act is contrary to the spirit of honest journalism. The Government of Bangladesh, as a Party to the UN Convention on the Right of the Child (CRC), would not tolerate any such act of abusing children. The Government would also not accept any such effort aimed at maligning the great Independence Day of the nation.
Source- MOFA