Growing concerns for elderly journalist hospitalised after being held in solitary confinement

Siobhan Fenton / The Independent, UK

Shafik Rehman (center) pictured in East London last year at his book launch. Also pictured left to right: His granddaughter Prianka, daughter-in-law Bilkis Arzu, grandson Zubeen and son Shumit Photo supplied by family

An elderly British-Bangladeshi journalist has been hospitalised after being held in solitary confinement and denied medical care in prison, his family have claimed.

Shafik Rehman, 81, is a prominent journalist with dual British and Bangladeshi citizenship. He has supported pro-opposition groups in the country and was arrested on 16 April on accusations of plotting to kidnap and kill the Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s son Sajeeb Wazed.

He denies the charges, which his family have denounced as “completely farcical”.  He is the third pro-opposition editor to be detained in Bangladesh since 2013.

Speaking to The Independent, Mr Rehman’s son Shumit said his father has been rushed to hospital in Dhaka with severe chest pains and diarrhoea.

“My father is being held in solitary confinement in a maximum security cell, pending investigation. That is not how the law works at any level, certainly not at his age. No charges have been made," he said.

“For the last month, he has been made to sleep on the floor, without a fan, locked up for 23 hours a day. He has a stent in his artery and is diabetic, he needs his medicine every day. No one is providing this.”

Mr Rehman is now in a stable condition and has been moved from hospital to a Dhaka jail with medical facilities, but his family say they are increasingly concerned for his health. Shumit Rehman has called on British authorities to intervene in the case.

Amnesty International has said the conditions in which Mr Rehman is being held are a contravention of Bangladesh’s obligations under international law to detain people without “cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment".

Champa Patel, director of the human rights group’s South Asia division, said: “The Bangladeshi authorities must end the prolonged solitary confinement of Shafik Rehman and ensure his well-being.

"It is absolutely shocking that an 81-year-old diabetic man with a history of heart problems is being denied the medical care he needs.”

Mr Rehman is a well-known journalist in Bangladesh and has previously worked as a speechwriter for the leader of the Bangladesh opposition party as well as chairing a pro-opposition think-tank.

He is credited with introducing Valentine's Day as a holiday to Bangladesh. He has previously worked for the BBC in London and is a chartered accountant in England. He resides in the UK for about six months a year.

His son Shumit’s MP, Matthew Offord, told The Independent that he was aware of the situation and had made representations to the Foreign Office and Secretary of State on the family’s behalf.

“All appropriate action has been taken in a difficult and sensitive situation," he said.

The British High Commission in Bangladesh did not respond when approached by The Independent for comment on the case.