Journalist Anis Alamgir freed on bail after three months in jail

He was arrested on Dec 14 last year

Journalist Anis Alamgir has been released from prison on bail after spending three months in custody in connection with anti-terror and graft cases.

He was freed from Kashimpur Central Jail-2 in Gazipur around 2:30pm on Saturday, according to Jannat Ul Farhad, assistant inspector general of prisons.

“He was released after the necessary bail documents arrived and were verified,” Farhad said.

Anis received bail on Mar 11 in a case filed by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) that had kept him in jail despite earlier securing High Court bail in a case under the Anti-Terrorism Act.

A team of Detective Branch officers took Anis to the agency’s office on the night of Dec 14 last year for “questioning”.

Later that night, a case was filed against him and three others, accusing them of conspiring to destabilise the state and inciting a banned organisation.

The other accused in that case are actor Meher Afroz Shaon, model Maria Kispotta, and television host Imtu Ratish.

Anis was placed on five days’ remand on Dec 15 and sent to jail on Dec 20.

In a separate development, the ACC filed a case against him on Jan 15 over the accumulation of illicit wealth. On Jan 28, a court placed him under arrest in that case as well.

According to the case statement, investigators found that Anis had acquired assets worth about Tk 42.5 million, while his known legitimate income was estimated at Tk 9.9 million, leaving Tk 32.6 million in unexplained wealth.

The High Court granted him bail in the case under the Anti-Terrorism Act on Mar 5, but he could not be released at the time because of the ACC case.

Anisur Rahman Alamgir, who works for various media outlets including the Daily Ajker Kagoj, is widely known by his pen name Anis Alamgir.

A part-time university teacher, he made headlines over his statements on different issues, including contemporary politics, on television talk shows. Several of his Facebook posts also made the news.

His wife Shahnaz Chowdhury had previously alleged that he had been taken into custody for exercising his right to free speech.