Prothom Alo editor seeks anticipatory bail in DSA case

Matiur Rahman, the editor and publisher of Bangla daily Prothom Alo, has sought anticipatory bail from the High Court (HC) in a case filed against him under the Digital Security Act (DSA).

"An HC bench may hear the bail petition today (Sunday, 2 April)," Advocate Proshanto Kumar Karmakar, a counsel for Matiur Rahman, said after confirming the matter to The Business Standard.

On 29 March, an FIR was filed by a lawyer named Abdul Malek (Mashiur Malek), accusing Matiur Rahman, Prothom Alo reporter Shamsuzzaman Shams, an unnamed "assistant cameraman", and unnamed others of "using print, online, and electronic media to tarnish the image and reputation of the state."

In the FIR, the lawyer also mentioned that the accused were "purposefully spreading misinformation to deteriorate the law and order situation of the country."

The case was filed under sections 25, 31 and 35 of the DSA.

The plaintiff said the news reported by Shamsuzzaman Shams went viral on social media which "tarnished the image of the country and triggered criticism at home and abroad."

Moreover, there was a possibility of deterioration in the law and order situation in the country over the matter, the case statement said.

Later, Shamsuzzaman Shams, the paper's Savar correspondent who wrote the report was sued in a separate case under the DSA on March 29, around 10 hours after being picked up from his house near Jahangirnagar University by members of the Criminal Investigation Department of police.

Multiple national and international bodies including the Editors' Council, Editors' Guild of Bangladesh, Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), Manabadhikar Shongskriti Foundation (MSF) and the Media Freedom Coalition (MFC) have published separate statements condemning the arrest of Shams.