bdnews24.com received ‘legal notice’ from Sylhet lawyer. Now he says he hasn’t sent it

It’s a curious case of a legal notice served on bdnews24.com, but the sender now says he has not sent it, nor is he familiar with his “client”.

The lawyer is one of the 37 people who have sent legal notices to bdnews24.com, asking the news publisher to remove old reports on HBM Iqbal and his family. Both the lawyer and his 'aggrieved' client in Sylhet say they are unaware of the incident, let alone sending the notice.

The notice bears the signature of Md Moazzem Hossain Chowdhury, a lawyer of Sylhet Bar Association. The notice written on his letterhead was served on behalf of Harunur Rashid on Feb 9 to four senior editors of bdnews24.com.

   It demanded the removal of the reports published between 2007 and 2017 on court proceedings or orders in cases against Iqbal, a former Awami League MP, and his family.

The notice threatened to file a case against bdnews24.com under the Digital Security Act and demand Tk 10 billion in damages for “defamation”.

“You must publish a notice by admitting your mistake about the news you have published. Otherwise, you will be responsible for adverse consequences,” it concluded.

bdnews24.com had published news on court proceedings and orders in cases filed against Iqbal, chairman of Premier Group, and members of his family in the past one and a half decades as had other mainstream media. bdnews24.com also covered the news of the acquittal of Iqbal and his family members of the charges.

The key point in the 37 legal notices, which began coming to the bdnews24.com offices in early February, is that the reports on Iqbal and his family should be removed as all of them have been acquitted in the cases. The language, statements and demands in the notices, sent under different names, are identical.

Besides publishing reports on the legal notices, bdnews24.com followed the legal procedure, sending replies to Moazzem and the other lawyers in the districts, leading to the discovery of the attempted fraud.

Moazzem in a letter on Mar 7 said he was surprised to receive bdnews24.com’s reply because he had not sent the notice and he does not know the person, named Harunur Rashid, in the notice. Moreover, Iqbal had not contacted him for the notice, according to Moazzem. The lawyer suspects someone used his name to send the “fake” notice.

As the legal notice had mentioned that Rashid is a well-wisher of Iqbal, bdnews24.com tried to contact the former member of parliament for his comment on the latest development by phone and SMS. Iqbal rejected calls from bdnews24.com. Later, a caller from the same phone number using the FaceTime app said he was not immediately available.

WHAT THE LAWYER SAYS

The letterhead and the seal used in the legal notice and the letter by Moazzem are similar. The seal on the notice is in Bangla, while the letter contains Moazzem’s signature in English.  

bdnews24.com’s Sylhet correspondent visited Moazzem’s chamber on Thursday for details after receiving the letter.  

Moazzem’s assistant Md Taher said the lawyer was absent due to his illness. Taher said his boss was surprised to receive the bdnews24.com reply. The lawyer sent the letter because he believes there is something wrong in the matter, according to the aide.  

Speaking to the bdnews24.com correspondent over the phone at the time, Moazzem confirmed that he had not sent the legal notice.

“Some miscreant sent the fake legal notice by forging [my] pad, seal and signature,” he said. 

HARUNUR RASHID KNOWS NOTHING ABOUT IT

bdnews24.com traced a man, named Harunur Rashid, to the address provided in the legal notice. He said he had not sent a legal notice and had no idea who could do it.

The notice used late Abdur Rahman and late Amena Begum as the names of Rashid’s parents. His address is Bhatipara Daulatpur, a village under Biswanath Police Station.  

Rashid said his name and address were correctly used in the notice, but his parents are Koysor Ali and Angura Begum. There is no other Harunur Rashid at that address, he said.

“I am a farmer. I don’t know [former] MP Iqbal. I don’t even know those to whom the notice has been sent,” he said.

‘UNETHICAL’ PRESSURE 

One of the senders of the notices has moved a court in Barishal seeking to file a defamation case against bdnews24.com. The judge is yet to pass an order on his plea.

A local journalist took to Facebook recently after seeing his name mentioned as a witness in the case. The journalist, Rubel Khan, said he was unaware of the development.

Toufique Imrose Khalidi, editor-in-chief of bdnews24.com, spoke extensively at a press conference on Feb 17 on “bizarre” attempts to muffle journalism by influential people.

Khalidi said bdnews24.com can correct factual errors, if any, but it will not remove reports bowing down to “undue” pressure.

“The reports are not based on bdnews24.com’s own investigation, but they objectively reflect the court proceedings and orders. It naturally begs the question: what logical reason is there for the news publisher to remove these reports?" he said.

The organisations of journalists across Bangladesh have protested against the demand to remove the old reports, calling it “unethical pressure”. They have demanded punitive action against those creating such pressure on bdnews24.com.