Staff Reporter :
Leaders of different journalists associations on Saturday demanded unconditional release of Prothom Alo senior correspondent Rozina Islam.
They also said a meeting with three ministers has been scheduled for Sunday to discuss the issue.
The journalist leaders were briefing the media after a closed-door meeting held at the National Press Club in the capital.
Rezwanul Haque Raja, president of Broadcast Journalist Centre (BJC), said a delegation of journalists will meet Law Minister Anisul Huq, Information Minister Hasan Mahmud and Roads, Transports and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader on Sunday.
He further added that their internal meeting has been adjourned till Sunday, as they will declare the next move after monitoring the court order on Rozina’s bail plea.
The journalist leaders also expressed hope that Rozina Islam will be released before the said meetings.
Demanding Rozina’s unconditional release, they warned that they will announce a tougher programme, if their demand is not met.
Kuddus Afrad, president Dhaka Union of Journalists’ (DUJ), said journalists in the country need a proper journalist protection act for safety.
Iqbal Sobhan Chowdhury, former president of Bangladesh Federal Union of Journalists (BFUJ), said the journalist members of all organisations will remain united on the issue of Rozina’s release.
“A coordinated delegation will visit the ministers for the best interests of the country’s journalists,” he added.
Farida Yasmin, president of National Press Club; Mashiur Rahman Khan, general secretary of Dhaka Reporters Unity; Shakil Ahmed, secretary of the BJC; Saiful Alam, former president of National Press Club; Abdul Jalil Bhuiyan, former secretary general of the BFUJ; and Zakaria Kajal, former joint secretary general of the BFUJ, among other journalist leaders, were present at the conference.
