BD grants bail to high editor after outcry

DHAKA: Bangladesh’s excessive court docket granted bail on Sunday to Matiur Rahman, one of many nation’s most revered editors, after he was charged beneath a controversial digital legislation.

Matiur Rahman, 78, the editor of the Bengali-language day by day Prothom Alo, requested bail after a lawyer filed a case towards him and a reporter final week beneath the Digital Safety Act.

The legislation has been criticised by the United Nations and human rights teams as a software to crack down on dissent and harass journalists in retaliation for his or her work.

“He was granted six weeks of bail,” Rahman’s lawyer Z.I. Khan Panna advised journalists outdoors the courthouse.

The case towards Rahman and reporter Shamsuzzaman Shams stems from a March 26 story on Bangladesh’s Independence Day that quoted odd individuals on their struggles to afford primary requirements.

As in many countries, the meals costs have soared in Bangladesh following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The taka has additionally fallen sharply towards the US greenback.