Mizanur punished, Matiur acquitted

The High Court has found Prothom Alo Joint Editor Mizanur Rahman Khan guilty of contempt for two of his articles published by the Bangla daily.

Khan has been slapped a fine of Tk 5,000 and the judges considered the five days of hearing he spent standing on the dock as good as time spent in jail.

The court acquitted the Editor Matiur Rahman, but censured the newspaper and said it should be careful with articles published in future.

The bench of Justices Naima Haider and Zafar Ahmed gave the verdict on the suo moto rule on Thursday.

Mizanur stood and Matiur Rahman was seated on the front bench in the courtroom while the judge read the verdict.

“This is a severe contempt (of court). But still Mizanur Rahman has only been fined,” said the verdict.

“No article that defames the court and hinders the delivery of justice for people can be published,” said the judge.

Khan said he will talk to lawyers about his next decision after receiving a copy of the full verdict.

Rahman could not be reached for a comment.

The bench on Mar 2 had summoned Khan following two reports published in the newspaper.

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