Most of the cases against the editor are treason charges.
A Bangladeshi court on Tuesday granted bail to the editor of a leading newspaper facing 79 cases, over a dozen of them calling for bringing treason charges, for publishing reports alleging corruption against Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina during army-backed emergency rule in 2007-2008.
Daily Star editor Mahfuz Anam was granted bail by the court in Rangpur in the Tk 100-crore (US $1.3 million) defamation case. Senior Judicial Magistrate Shafiul Alam granted the bail upon a bond of Tk 1,000 with two guarantors. The court fixed May 26 for the next hearing, the DailyStar reported.
The defence counsels had argued that the allegations against Anam in the complaint do not have anything defamatory. Motahar Hossain Moula, ruling Awami League's Rangpur district organising secretary, filed the case on February 15, after which the court had summoned Anam before it on Tuesday.
A total of 79 cases including 17 pleading to bring charges of treason have been filed against Anam in 53 districts across the country between February 9 and 22. A total compensation of Tk 1.33 trillion (USD 16.6 billion) has been sought for the damages.
The barrage of cases against Anam began after he at a talk show last month discussed about a lapse in his editorial judgement in publishing some reports based on unverified leaks from the military-backed caretaker government that ruled Bangladesh until Sheikh Hasina become prime minister in 2009.
He had said running the reports fed by the Directorate General of Forces Intelligence (DGFI) without verification was a "big blunder" in his career. Several other major newspapers also carried identical reports supplied by the intelligence agency during the emergency rule but Anam's admission sparked a massive uproar.
Hasina's son Sajeeb Wazed Joy has demanded that Anam be tried for treason. Many lawmakers alleged that Anam conspired to bring an "unconstitutional government" and "destroy democracy throughout their life". The cases however have drawn condemnation from local and international journalists and journalist unions.
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