Desk Report:

United Nations has expressed concerns regarding the harassment and arrest of Prothom Alo’s senior reporter Rozina Islam. The global body has also said that they are looking at it.

Stéphane Dujarric, spokesman for the UN Secretary-General António Guterres, said this in response to a question during a regular media briefing on Tuesday.

“We’ve seen the press reports on the journalist that was arrested in Bangladesh. It is, obviously, something that we are looking at. It is something that’s concerning,” said the UN spokesperson when UN permanent correspondent Mushfiqul Fazal Ansari drew Dujarric’s attention to the harassment and arrest of Rozina Islam.

Mentioning that journalists need to be able to do their work free of any sort of harassment, the UN spokesperson said, “Journalists need to be able to do their work free of any sort of harassment or physical threat anywhere around the world. And, obviously, that includes Bangladesh and every other country.”

Dujarric further said, “I think we have seen the very important work that journalists all around the world have done during the pandemic, and they need to be able to continue that work, wherever they may work.”