Bangladesh journalist Shamsuzzaman Shams was arrested by Dhaka police on March 29 after an article he wrote for a leading newspaper on rising food prices in the country went viral.
Shams was arrested by officers in plainclothes in the early hours of March 29 from his house in Savar, an industrial town near Dhaka, his employer Prothom Alo revealed.
The journalist was charged with producing 'fake and fabricated news' under the controversial media law, the Digital Security Act (DSA).
Country's home minister Asduzzaman Khan confirmed that Shams had been arrested under the DSA for 'smearing the image of the government with false news' and for raising questions about Bangladesh's achievements. An allegation which the newspaper has denied.
The article published on the country's independence day, March 26, contained quotes from daily wagers including one that denounced the independence when they could not even afford basic food items.