Brazen Violations, Bizarre Charges

It was quite a sight. Viewers of television channels and readers of the dailies that carried the images of incarcerated journalist Rozina Islam were baffled at the scale of security measures taken by the state. A sea of police personnel was accompanying the accused, being taken to the magistrate's office to face charges. No, it was not the dreadful serial killer Ershad Sikder, the ruthless series bomber Bangla Bhai, or the "bandit queen" Phoolan Devi. The accused in question was a decorated journalist of the largest circulated daily of the country, Prothom Alo.