Barisal court asks Prothom Alo editor to appear on Sep 10

A Barisal court yesterday asked Prothom Alo Editor Matiur Rahman to appear before it on a day it fixed for hearing the case field by a leader of Awami Olema League for hurting religious sentiment. Magistrate Nusrat Jahan passed the order after Matiur Rahman, along with his counsel, appeared before her court and sought bail in the case. Barisal city unit Awami Olema League Secretary Mawlana Bashirullah Atahari lodged the case against Matiur Rahman and Majid Khan, a freelance photographer, on October 9, 2014, accusing them of hurting religious sentiment.
The court said the lower court has no jurisdiction for hearing bail petitions prior to a fixed date of hearing in a case and asked the accused to appear before the court on September 10, the day fixed for hearing the case. In his complaint, the plaintiff claimed that the accused had hurt his religious sentiment by publishing a cartoon against the Prophet Mohammad (SM) on the newspaper’s satire magazine 'Alpin' on September 17, 2007. The cartoon compared Allah with then ruling government. The daily also published a photo of a queue of female voters, during a national election, adorned with ‘Sindur’ on their foreheads. The plaintiff claimed the move was aimed at serving a certain interest.

Barisal court asks Prothom Alo editor to appear on Sep 10

A Barisal court yesterday asked Prothom Alo Editor Matiur Rahman to appear before it on a day it fixed for hearing the case field by a leader of Awami Olema League for hurting religious sentiment. Magistrate Nusrat Jahan passed the order after Matiur Rahman, along with his counsel, appeared before her court and sought bail in the case. Barisal city unit Awami Olema League Secretary Mawlana Bashirullah Atahari lodged the case against Matiur Rahman and Majid Khan, a freelance photographer, on October 9, 2014, accusing them of hurting religious sentiment. The court said the lower court has no jurisdiction for hearing bail petitions prior to a fixed date of hearing in a case and asked the accused to appear before the court on September 10, the day fixed for hearing the case. In his complaint, the plaintiff claimed that the accused had hurt his religious sentiment by publishing a cartoon against the Prophet Mohammad (SM) on the newspapers satire magazine Alpin on September 17, 2007. The cartoon compared Allah with then ruling government. The daily also published a photo of a queue of female voters, during a national election, adorned with Sindur on their foreheads. The plaintiff claimed the move was aimed at serving a certain interest.