Staff Reporter :
Transparency International (TIB) on Saturday expressed deep concern over the restriction imposed on providing information of patients and health services at government hospitals to the media during the Covid-19 pandemic, demanding immediate revocation of the order signed by the Dhaka District Civil Surgeon on Friday.
TIB also called for strict action against those in whose interests such
restrictions were imposed instead of making all-out efforts to control the pandemic collectively through the free flow of information.
TIB Executive Director Iftekharuzzaman in a statement on Saturday said, “Currently, the Covid-19 pandemic has taken a terrible turn in the country and the number of infections and deaths is on the rise almost every day”.
“Amid this situation, imposing restrictions on the disclosure of any information related to health services and patient care of government hospitals in Dhaka district to the media is a serious violation of the constitutional right of free media and free flow of information and the right to information law,” he said.
The ban conflicts with the promise of independent and objective journalism and is a deliberate obstruction of the free flow of information to the media, TIB said.
