Matiur Rahman
I will return again to the same point. Our country, society, state, and politics are all deeply divided. During the previous government, we can say that a section or group of journalists directly sided with the government, took position against opposing views, and made various provocative statements. As a result, a perception was created that they played a favourable role in government actions and events. That is part of journalistic freedom.
The perception is that they supported an authoritarian, corrupt, and people-alienated government that oppressed citizens. However, we, that is, Prothom Alo, The Daily Star, the Editors’ Council, and the newspaper owners’ association (NOAB), have repeatedly raised questions about their trial, punishment, and imprisonment. Recently, on behalf of the Editors’ Council, we raised this issue in discussions with Prime Minister Tarique Rahman.
Eventually, he requested a list. Mahfuz Anam was assigned to prepare that list. He prepared it and submitted it to the prime minister. The authorities said they would look into it, investigate, and inform us of what could be done. Our position is that these cases should be reconsidered. Not everyone is guilty. In murder cases, these allegations have not been proven, nor accepted as fact. But they have been placed in a kind of retaliatory cycle.
In my view, the government has taken a slow approach. It is allowing things to continue and is unlikely to take any sudden decisions. What is unfortunate is that some individuals are being charged under other cases, such as ICT cases, which is another issue.
Their argument is that even if someone was not directly involved in a crime, they created an environment that enabled it, and therefore they are responsible. This raises major questions of journalism, law, ethics, and politics. But we believe that such false cases, murder cases without basis, and cases without evidence cannot stand. They are not sustainable under any legal system. Keeping these cases pending does not serve the government well.
