Bangladesh police arrest Ekushey TV boss Abdus Salam on 'trumped-up' pornography charges

Bangladesh police have arrested the boss of a private TV channel on "trumped-up" pornography charges after it aired a speech from an exiled opposition politician.

Abdus Salam, chairman of Ekushey TV (ETV), was detained under the country's Pornography Control Act 2012.

The authorities said a woman filed a complaint in November 2014, alleging that that the new channel vilified her and aired pornographic images of her.

The move comes after ETV ran a speech from Tarique Rahman, son of opposition leader Khaleda Zia and senior vice chairman of the Bangladesh National Party (BNP).

Rahman, who is based in London, called for a popular uprising against Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's administration after police locked Zia inside BNP offices ahead of protests over the country's 2014 elections.

A source told IBTimes UK that ETV was blocked by the Awami League-led government in parts of Bangladesh following Rahman's speech.

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), a US based press freedom organisation, condemned the arrest of Salam and called on the police to release him.

"We call on Bangladeshi authorities to immediately release ETV's owner, Salam, and restore access to the channel," said Bob Dietz, Asia program coordinator for CPJ.

"These trumped-up charges are the latest attempt to silence opposition voices under the rule of Hasina and do not bode well for Bangladesh's democracy."

The development comes after the Bangladeshi government threatened to arrest the Zia on murder charges.

The opposition leader could face trial because it's claimed she instigated protests that led to the torching of a vehicle, that left three people fighting for their lives.

The incident happened during clashes between opposition protesters, security forces and pro-government activists in the capital, Dhaka, in December, Information Minister Hasanul Haq Inu said.