Journo barred from flying at Dhaka airport

Immigration authorities at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport prevented Nazrul Islam Mithu, the Dhaka correspondent of Deutsche Presse-Agentur (dpa), a German-based news agency, from boarding a flight to China yesterday.

Mithu, who currently serves as the president of the Overseas Correspondents Association Bangladesh (OCAB), was scheduled to board a 2:00pm China Southern Airlines flight to Shanghai for a holiday.

Talking to The Daily Star, he said that he took a leave from his office and planned this trip.

Immigration Police did not comment officially on the matter. However, an official speaking on condition of anonymity claimed that Mithu was informed why he was not allowed to board. The official alleged that the journalist behaves rudely with officers whenever he goes abroad.

Mithu dismissed the claim as “baseless”, stating that he rarely travels and had simply documented the facts of the encounter.

In a Facebook post, Mithu recounted the incident, saying that all of this happened at a time when national and international events were being held to mark World Press Freedom Day.

He said the ordeal began while he was waiting in the immigration queue. A blue-uniformed officer called his name and seized his travel documents before escorting him to the office of the superintendent of police in charge of immigration.

“The SP came out and wanted to know about my profession,” Mithu wrote. After identifying himself as a journalist and providing a business card, he was questioned by four field officers from intelligence agencies.

The officers reportedly asked if he held any leadership positions and whether he was implicated in any legal cases. Mithu, who confirmed his role as OCAB president, told them he was not aware of any cases against him.

Despite the SP later informing him that the police had found nothing against him, Mithu was told he could not fly without “agency” clearance.

“I swear we have no evidence against you. But the ‘agencies’ might not allow you to travel, at least for today [Sunday],” the SP reportedly told the journalist after an hour-long wait.

When asked for a specific reason, the officer claimed he had not been informed, adding, “They don’t share anything with us. We just follow what they say.”

Shortly after, the SP directed airline staff to offload Mithu’s luggage. He was escorted to the conveyor belt to collect his bags before leaving the airport.

Mithu described the incident as a violation of his fundamental right to freedom of movement and a breach of article 13 of the International Human Rights Declaration.