Rangamati journalist Fazle Elahi gets bail in digital security case

Fazle Elahi, the editor of a local online news website in Rangamati, has secured bail in a case under the controversial Digital Security Act.

Rangamati's Senior Judicial Magistrate Fatema Begum Mukta granted bail to the journalist after he was produced in court on Wednesday, according to Fazle's lawyer Mokhtar Ahmed.

Kotwali police arrested Fazle on Tuesday in connection with a case filed at the Chattogram Cyber Tribunal in 2021.

Naznin Anwar, the daughter of former reserved seat MP and Mohila Awami League leader Firoza Begum Chinu, brought the charges against Fazle, the editor of Pahar24.com, over a report published in the portal.

Fazle also works as the Rangamati district correspondent of bdnews24.com, the daily Kaler Kantho and broadcaster NTV.

"The charges against him are bailable. We applied for bail in court and argued in favour of it. The court later granted him bail on a bond of Tk 1,000,” said Mokhtar, also the president of the Rangamati District Bar Association.

"Many have expressed concerns since his arrest and demanded his release. We are grateful to everyone," he added.