Defamation Case Filed Against Four Journalists in Bangladesh

A defamation lawsuit has been initiated against four journalists in Bogura, Bangladesh, accusing them of disseminating false and damaging information concerning State Minister for Local Government, Rural Development and Co-operatives, Mir Shahe Alam. The case was formally lodged with the Senior Judicial Magistrate Court in Bogura on Monday by Tanveer Alam, treasurer of the Bogura Press Club.

Senior Judicial Magistrate Mehedi Hasan has acknowledged the allegations and ordered the relevant police station to register the complaint as a first information report (FIR) and proceed with legal actions. "The case will be forwarded to the respective police station to be officially recorded, followed by a legal investigation and subsequent actions," stated Advocate Abdul Wahab, the plaintiff's lawyer.

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We have yet to receive the FIR for registration. When we receive it, we will inform the journalists.

The accused journalists are Mehedi Hasan, publisher and editor of Agrajatra Pratidin; Ashraf Ali Faruqui, news editor; Saleh Kaysar, reporter; and Shams, the newspaper's correspondent in Bogura. The lawsuit claims the journalists deliberately published fabricated information to harm the state minister's personal, social, and political standing.

Specific allegations include a social media post from June 12 that allegedly distorted the minister's comments made during a press conference. Further claims detail provocative and misleading content circulated on June 13, preceding the prime minister's visit, during which the state minister accompanied the premier. Another campaign reportedly falsely asserted that the minister was seen running in front of the prime minister's car in Cox's Bazar, intended to incite public sentiment and cause distress.

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The case will be forwarded to the respective police station to be officially recorded, followed by a legal investigation and subsequent actions.