Journalist Shafik Rehman cleared to file bail petition with Supreme Court

Journalist Shafik Rehman has been cleared to file appeal against a High Court decision scrapping his bail petition.

Senior Correspondentbdnews24.com
Published : 17 July 2016, 05:14 AM
Updated : 17 July 2016, 05:16 AM

The chief justice-led appeals bench gave the order on Sunday after hearing a leave-to-appeal petition and ordered proper medical treatment for him.

The top court also asked Rehman’s counsel to submit a summary of the appeal within three weeks, while the State got one week.

“The court has instructed the prison authorities to provide proper medical care to Shafik Rehman.

“It also said that, if needed, he can be transferred to the Bangabandhu Medical University Hospital,” said lawyer Asaduzzaman, who assisted Rehman’s counsel AJ Mohammad Ali during Sunday’s hearing.

He added that the court also ordered the government to submit a report on the progress of the case.

On Jun 7, a High Court bench had scrapped Rehman’s petition after he was denied bail by the trial court.

His counsels moved the Supreme Court’s chamber judge with a leave-to-petition, which was then forwarded to a regular appeals bench on Jul 14.

In May last year, police filed a case after an expatriate BNP leader’s son, along with two other Americans, was convicted in the US for bribing a former FBI agent to get confidential information regarding Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s son with the intent to 'scare,' 'kidnap' and 'hurt' him.

Shafik Rehman was arrested in this case on Apr 16 this year from his home in Dhaka.

Police later said the former Daily Jaijaidin editor had admitted to holding several meetings with those convicted by the US court and handed over 'confidential FBI documents’, related to the plot to abduct Hasina’s son and her ICT affairs adviser Sajeeb Wazed Joy.