The Raujan Press Club has issued a strong condemnation following allegations that a false case has been filed against one of its senior members, journalist Md. Shahadat Hossain Sazzad, who serves as the club's Joint General Secretary and is a correspondent for national dailies.
The legal action is linked to the journalist's professional coverage of a public protest in 2020. According to Shahadat Hossain and his family, he is being targeted for his work. They state that on January 21, 2020, he reported on a road blockade organized by the public against the Muniriya Youth Tabligg Committee. Allegedly angered by this reporting, a man named Mohammad Nurul Alam, who identifies as an advisor to the committee's local branch, filed a case on November 6, 2025, accusing the journalist of vandalism and looting.
In the lawsuit, Shahadat Hossain was named as the 17th accused, with specific allegations of looting 50,000 taka and breaking an almirah.
The journalist has firmly denied all charges, labeling the case "completely false and baseless." He stated, "I have been practicing journalism in Raujan for 11–12 years, always standing by the people. I have no involvement in any vandalism or looting incident." He contends the legal action is direct harassment for his reporting on the protest, which was demanding the arrest of Pir Munir Ullah and his associates.
In a joint statement, Raujan Press Club President M. Belal Uddin and General Secretary Nezam Uddin Rana strongly denounced the case, asserting that such fabricated allegations against a journalist constitute an attack on press freedom and demanding its immediate withdrawal.
The incident is not isolated, as a similar false case was reportedly filed by the same organization against another local journalist, Arafat Hossain of the Daily Ajker Patrika.
All attempts to contact the plaintiff, Mohammad Nurul Alam, for comment were unsuccessful.
Monirul Islam Bhuiyan, the Acting Officer-in-Charge of Raujan Police Station, commented on the procedural status, noting, "The case statement does not identify him as a journalist, making it difficult to distinguish between a journalist and an accused. The journalist's name will be removed from the search sheet."
