New Age editor Nurul Kabir has called on the government to investigate and identify senior officials responsible for creating a list used to harass journalists and innocent travelers at airports, even after the fall of an autocratic regime.
Expressing dissatisfaction with the punitive action taken against a junior immigration officer, Kabir emphasised that the root of the issue lies with higher-level authorities.
In a Facebook post on Monday, Kabir wrote, “I am thankful to the government for its quick response to the harassment rendered to me in the Dhaka airport and its announcement that no journalist would be exposed to such harassment in the future. But I am upset by the government resolve to punish the junior immigration police officer posted at the airport for my harassment.”
Kabir clarified that the officer in question had not prepared the controversial list but was merely executing orders from superiors. He described the officer as “personally decent,” noting, “I saw him trying over the phone to obtain clearance from his boss for both my departure and re-entry.”
Terming the action against the officer as unacceptable, Kabir said, “Punishing this gentleman is just scapegoating a junior officer for the senior lot.”
He called on the government to conduct a thorough investigation to identify and hold accountable the high-ranking officials responsible for maintaining such lists. “The government authorities rather should investigate and find out those at the top level who made the list and continued to harass the innocent travelers even after the ouster of an autocratic regime,” Kabir asserted.
Kabir on Saturday (November 23) had alleged on his verified Facebook account that he was subjected to repeated harassment at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport.
Following the post, the Special Branch (SB) of Police issued an official apology, initiated an investigation, and withdrew the immigration officer accused of involvement.
According to the SB, the harassment occurred due to a residual "blocked list" from the previous Sheikh Hasina government. The list included thousands of individuals flagged for potential travel restrictions, such as dissidents, political figures, journalists, and human rights activists.
Since the interim government assumed power, the SB has reportedly been working to revise the list, removing names of journalists and other individuals who were unfairly included. However, much of this process is manual, leading to delays and errors, the SB said.