BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir has expressed deep concern and protest over the imprisonment of Mahmudur Rahman, the acting editor of Amar Desh newspaper. He said that Mahmudur Rahman is a renowned journalist of the country. He was subjected to terrible torture during the rule of the fallen dictatorial government. He was physically attacked and bloodied. Unable to withstand the violent attacks of fascism, a conspiracy was hatched to endanger his life.
Mahmudur Rahman's release has been demanded from all quarters. In this situation, on Wednesday, in a video message on his verified Facebook page, Advisor to the Ministry of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Dr. Asif Nazrul spoke about Mahmudur Rahman.
The legal advisor said, Mahmudur Rahman Bhai initiated an intellectual fight against the fascist rule of Sheikh Hasina in this country. For this, he had to suffer severe persecution and torture. Nothing compares to it. He was punished by the fascist Sheikh Hasina government in a fake case. He was punished in his absence. The merit of this case can also be questioned.
He said, the trial in this case had been completed. He had already been punished. A few days before he came to Bangladesh, an unacceptable case was also filed against his wife, Shraddhayo Bhari. She had filed an appeal seeking a stay of the sentence in that case. This does not concern me. This application goes to the Home Ministry. When the Home Ministry sought our opinion, we strongly recommended positively. Based on our recommendation, the sentence of Mahmudur Rahman Bhai's wife was suspended and she was given the opportunity to appeal.
He further said that in the case in which Mahmudur Rahman Bhai is in jail today after being sentenced, another prominent journalist Shafiq Rehman was also sentenced in the same case. He had filed an appeal seeking a stay of the sentence in this case. It was approved based on the recommendation of the Law Ministry. But Mahmudur Rahman Bhai did not do this.
The legal advisor further said, "You all know that he is a very strong self-respecting and patriotic person. Perhaps because of his personality, he thought that he would not apply for a stay of execution. Or maybe for some other reason, I don't know. However, he did not apply for an appeal as a free man with the sentence suspended. As a result, the ministry or the government had no opportunity to do so."
