UNB, Dhaka :
The High Court on Monday stayed for three months the proceedings of 10 cases filed in different parts of the
country against The Daily Star Editor and Publisher Mahfuz Anam on defamation and sedition charges.
An HC bench comprising Justice Syed Muhammad Dastagir Husain and Justice AKM Shahidul Huq passed the order after hearing a petition in this connection.
Earlier on April 11, the Court stayed the proceedings of 72 cases filed in different parts of the country against The Daily Star editor. The court also extended this order.
Mahfuz Anam published reports in his newspaper in 2007 against Awami League President Sheikh Hasina based on information provided by DGFI without any scrutiny. In a television talk-show on February 3, he admitted that it was his ‘biggest mistake’ to publish the reports without any verification. Following his statement, leaders and activists of Awami League and its associate bodies filed some 83 defamation and sedition cases with courts across the country, including Dhaka, against him. Of the cases, Mahfuz Anam secured bail in 66 cases from the HC and in six cases from the district courts while another case was quashed. Later, he filed a writ petition with the HC challenging the legality of the 72 cases. Following his writ, the HC stayed the proceedings of the cases.
The High Court on Monday stayed for three months the proceedings of 10 cases filed in different parts of the
country against The Daily Star Editor and Publisher Mahfuz Anam on defamation and sedition charges.
An HC bench comprising Justice Syed Muhammad Dastagir Husain and Justice AKM Shahidul Huq passed the order after hearing a petition in this connection.
Earlier on April 11, the Court stayed the proceedings of 72 cases filed in different parts of the country against The Daily Star editor. The court also extended this order.
Mahfuz Anam published reports in his newspaper in 2007 against Awami League President Sheikh Hasina based on information provided by DGFI without any scrutiny. In a television talk-show on February 3, he admitted that it was his ‘biggest mistake’ to publish the reports without any verification. Following his statement, leaders and activists of Awami League and its associate bodies filed some 83 defamation and sedition cases with courts across the country, including Dhaka, against him. Of the cases, Mahfuz Anam secured bail in 66 cases from the HC and in six cases from the district courts while another case was quashed. Later, he filed a writ petition with the HC challenging the legality of the 72 cases. Following his writ, the HC stayed the proceedings of the cases.
