Mahmudur Rahman arrested, remanded

A Dhaka court on Thursday granted police 13 days’ remand of Mahmudur Rahman, Acting Editor of pro-BNP daily Amar Desh, in three cases against him.

As his lawyers asked him to sign the appeal letter for his bail, Mahmudur Rahman stood up and told the court, “I know I won’t get bail, but remand will be granted. The judge has orders from the higher level. That’s why I’m standing up for myself in the hearing.”

“I’m not a fool ... I won’t file ‘vakalatnama’.”

He interrupted State Prosecutor Abdullah Babu when he was arguing for grilling Rahman.

The court granted 13 days of remand after the hearing.

Mahmudur Rahman was arrested from Amar Desh office on Thursday morning on charges of sedition and for unlawfully publishing a Skype conversation of a former Chairman of the International Crimes Tribunal.

He was taken to the office of the Detective Branch of Police on Minto Road in the capital.

Police prayed for 10 days’ remand in a case filed by ICT prosecutor Shahidur Rahman on Dec 14 at the Tejgaon Police Station over the publication of the Skype conversation of Justice Nizamul Huq and a Belgium-based legal expert Ahmed Ziauddin, but the court granted only seven days.

Police also requested for remand of seven days each in two other cases filed at the Tejgaon Police Station over vandalism and assaulting policemen. The court granted three days in each of the cases.

Charges have been brought against him under Articles 57 and 58 of Cyber Crime and ICT Act-2006 and Section 124(a) of the Bangladesh Penal Code for sedition.

Secular groups allege Mahmudur Rahman is the moving force behind whipping up religious passion against bloggers and online activists leading the Shahbagh's Ganajagaran Mancha. The Mancha had even set a deadline for the arrest of Rahman.

Mahmudur Rahman, a former Energy Advisor to BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia, has been behind bars in the past for contempt of court.

He has been the Acting Editor of Amar Desh since 2008. BNP leader Mosaddek Ali Falu is the owner of the newspaper.

On June 2, 2010, Mahmudur Rahman was arrested in a fraud case filed by Amar Desh Publisher Hashmat Ali Hasu. Another case was filed the same day against him for obstructing police in performing their duties. Later, a total of 49 cases were filed against him including a defamation suit.

On Aug 19, 2010, Mahmudur Rahman was sentenced for six months and fined Tk 100,000 over sedition charge. Failing to comply, he was sentenced to one more month in prison by the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court.

He completed the seven-month prison sentence in this case on Mar 17 last year.

He had been staying in the Amar Desh office for a long time to avoid arrest.