The High Court (HC) yesterday stayed for six months a mobile court order, sentencing a journalist from Kurigram Ariful Islam to one year imprisonment for alleged possession of narcotics.

The HC bench comprising Justice Md Ashraful Kamal and Justice Sardar Md Rashed Jahangir came up with the order in presence of journalist Ariful. The bench also asked the officer in-charge of concerned police station to accept Ariful’s allegations against former Kurigram deputy commissioner Sultana Pervin and 35 to 40 others as a First Information of Report (FIR).

The HC bench issued a rule asking the government to explain why the conviction awarded to Ariful would not be declared illegal. Earlier, in the morning the HC bench asked Ariful to be the petitioner of the writ that was filed by Advocate Ishrat Hasan on March 15 on behalf of online news portal Bangla Tribune's Executive Editor Harun-Ur-Rashid.

Earlier, on March 13, a mobile court under a taskforce of the Kurigram district administration raided Ariful's home at around midnight.

The mobile court sentenced Ariful to one-year imprisonment on charge of possessing half a bottle of liquor and 150 grams of hemp. After the incident, Harun ur Rashid, executive editor of Bangla Tribune, filed the writ petition at the High Court challenging the conviction.

On March 15, the High Court ordered the state to submit before it a copy of the conviction. On March 16, the HC asked the authorities concerned to submit all the documents related to Ariful’s conviction and bail order by March 23. Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) president AM Aminuddin, and advocate Ishrat Hassan stood for the writ petitioner, while Deputy Attorney General Pratikar Chakma represented the state in the hearing today.

TH