Dhaka orders treason probe against daily editor

Dhaka, Feb. 11: A Bangladeshi court on Thursday ordered a treason probe against the editor of a leading newspaper for publishing “false and distorted” corruption stories about Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Wajed during the Army- backed emergency rule in 2007- 2008.

“Metropolitan magistrate Snigdha Rani ordered police to accept the sedition complaint brought against ( the Daily Star editor) Mahfuz Anam... She also asked the concerned police station to submit the investigation report by March 28,” a court official said. He said assistant public prosecutor M. Mostafizur Rahman Dulal lodged the complaint seeking Mr Anam’s trial on treason charges for running “false and distorted” corruption stories against Ms Wajed, fed by the military- intelligence agency, in an effort to “efface” her from politics.

Legal experts, however, said the government consent would be required to launch Mr Anam’s trial on sedition charges under the country’s law.

During the 2007- 08 militarybacked interim government, a number of graft cases were filed against politicians including Ms Wajed and her archrival Khaleda Zia of Bangladesh Nationalist party while the two leaders were kept in make- shift jails for months to face trial.

But the complaint was lodged days after Anam in a TV talk show said running the reports fed by the Directorate- General of Forces Intelligence without verification was a “big blunder” in his career. Several other major newspapers also carried identical reports supplied by the intelligence agency during the emergency rule, but Mr Anam’s admission sparked a massive uproar.