Lawyer files case against Prothom Alo editor, reporter under Digital Security Act

Prothom Alo published a 'false and seditious report in a planned way with malintent' that created 'discontent' among the public, the case document said

Senior Correspondentbdnews24.com
Published : 30 March 2023, 08:12 AM
Updated : 30 March 2023, 08:12 AM

A lawyer has filed a case against Prothom Alo Editor Matiur Rahman and Staff Reporter Samsuzzaman Shams under the Digital Security Act, accusing them of “publishing and spreading information which is false, misleading and demeaning to the nation” in a report on Independence Day.

Lawyer Moshiur Malek filed the case under the Digital Security Act on Wednesday night, naming Editor Matiur Rahman as one of the accused, and saying he had ordered the report's publication, said Abul Hasan, chief of Ramna Police Station.

Besides the editor and the reporter, an unnamed 'associate cameraman' has also been accused in the case.

Inspector Abu Ansar of Ramna Police Station will be investigating the case, the OC said.

Dhaka Metropolitan North Jubo League leader Md Golam Kibria has filed another case with the Tejgaon Police Station over the same report for 'spreading false and defaming information.' Only Shams was named in that case.

Before the news of the case with Tejgaon Police Station became public, Shams was detained from his Savar home on Wednesday morning by people identified as 'CID officers.'

The CID s denied the detention, while another journalist who witnessed the incident, Shams's landlord, and the chief security officer of Jahangirnagar University, which is adjacent to Shams' house, said the people who took Shams away claimed to be from the CID.

Police took Shams to the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate's Court in Dhaka on Thursday, 24 hours after he was detained by the CID, said Mohammad Anisur Rahman, a deputy commissioner of Dhaka Metropolitan Police.

"What will we do with independence if there's no food to fill our stomachs?" a person was quoted as saying in a report published on the Mar 26 online version of Prothom Alo. He indicated that people sweat over how to secure rice, meat and fish daily.

His comment was reflected in the headlines, but the report used the photo of a child also mentioned in the article. The headline and the image were used to post a card on social media, which stirred considerable controversy. Leaders of the ruling party Awami League said the report contained 'seditious' materials.

Later, Prothom Alo removed the photo and changed the report's headline. It also removed the social media post.

Moshiur Malek, the plaintiff in the case filed with Ramna Police Station, said in the case documents that Prothom Alo published a 'false and seditious report in a planned way with malintent' on the occasion of Independence Day. The case document said it created 'discontent' among the public and might lead to 'instability' and deterioration of 'law and order' in the country.