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Published : 26 May 2026, 09:44 PM
Former Jatiya Press Club president and Janata Party Bangladesh Secretary General Shaukat Mahmood has been released on bail.
His eldest daughter Mehet Mamun said he returned home Monday evening after being released from Dhaka Central Jail in Keraniganj.
After five and a half months of incarceration, Shaukat, who switched from journalism to politics, was granted bail in a case filed by Shahbagh Police under the Anti-Terrorism Act.
He had been in jail since his arrest on Dec 7, 2025, during the tenure of the Muhammad Yunus-led interim administration.
Mehet told bdnews24.com that Shaukat was granted bail by the High Court last week.
Later, after completing the legal process, he was brought home.
Referring to Shaukat’s “prolonged” illness, Mehet said: "Now we're waiting for him to fully recover. We, the family members, are grateful that the government has taken his health issue into consideration."
She wrote a letter to Prime Minister Tarique Rahman on Apr 1, seeking her father's release.
Shaukat was arrested in connection with a case filed against Bangladeshi-origin US citizen Enayet Karim Chowdhury over the “conspiracy to topple” the interim government.
After securing bail in the case, Shaukat was arrested again on Mar 16 in the case filed by Shahbagh Police.
The case was filed against 16 people, including expelled Awami League central leader Abdul Latif Siddique, Dhaka University law teacher Prof Sheikh Hafizur Rahman Karzon, and journalist Monjurul Alam Panna.
According to the case dossier, an organisation named “Mancha 71” emerged on Aug 5 last year with the aim of stopping the deep conspiracy to erase the history of the Liberation War and the distortion of the history of the Liberation War.
The purpose of this organisation is to prepare for self-sacrifice with the people of Bangladesh to resist all conspiracies to erase the achievements of the nation, it adds.
As part of the preparation, a roundtable was organised at the Dhaka Reporters Unity in the capital’s Segunbagicha on Aug 28.
After the discussion started, a mob entered the meeting venue shouting slogans. At one stage, they closed the venue doors and manhandled some participants.
Latif, Karzon and Panna, who attended the event as guests, were later arrested.
Shaukat was described as a suspect "under investigation" in the case before his arrest.
