Bangladesh's Daily Star editor secures bail in defamation case

The editor and publisher of the Bangladesh paper - Daily Star - Mahfuz Anam, on Monday secured bail in a five crore Taka defamation case lodged against him in the country's Gazipur District.Senior Judicial Magistrate of Gazipur Iqbal Masud granted bail after Anam appeared before the court and sought bail. A defamation case was filed by Gazipur district's education secretary for the ruling Awami League, Amanat Hossain Khan, on February 17.This defamation case was among the 79 lawsuits filed against the editor in 53 districts, seventeen of which includes petitions that sought to sue Anam for sedition. The case against Anam began days after he made a comment on a talk show on February 3, about a lapse in his editorial judgment in publishing some reports, based on information given by the Taskforce Interrogation Cell during the 2007-08 caretaker government rule, without being able to verify those independently.Local and international journalist denounced the cases leveled against him citing barrage on the freedom of expression.