Shafik Rehman surrenders to court
Senior journalist Shafik Rehman on Monday surrendered to a lower court in Dhaka in a case filed on charges of attempting to abduct and murder Sajeeb Wajed Joy, son of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
He surrendered before the court of Dhaka Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Mahbubul Haque and filed an application for a copy of the case and for the recall of the arrest warrant issued against him.
His lawyer, Syed Joynul Abedin Mezbah, stated that Shafik Rehman's sentence was suspended for one year on Sunday, on the condition of filing an appeal upon surrender. He requested the court to cancel the arrest warrant issued against him, and the court granted that request. Mezbah added, "We will file the appeal very soon."
Earlier on Sunday, Dhaka Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Mahbubul Haque sent Mahmudur Rahman, the former acting editor of the daily Amar Desh, to jail after he surrendered in the same case.
His lawyer, Syed Joynul, explained, “Under the Criminal Procedure Code, a court cannot grant bail if the sentence is more than one year. Mahmudur was sentenced to seven years on August 17 of last year-five years under one section and two years under another. Therefore, this court is unable to grant bail. We will soon apply for his bail in the higher court, and we are hopeful for a positive outcome.”
On August 17, 2023, Dhaka Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Asaduzzaman Nur sentenced Shafik Rehman, Mahmudur Rahman, Vice President of Jatiyatabadi Samajik Sangskrit Sangtha Mohammad Ullah Mamun, his son Rizvi Ahmmed alias Sejar, and US expatriate Mizanur Rahman Bhuiyan to seven years of imprisonment in this case.
According to the case details, the accused held meetings at home and abroad regarding the kidnapping and murder of Joy, the then ICT advisor to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, in September 2011.
Inspector Fazlur Rahman of the Detective Branch (DB) filed the case with Paltan Model Police Station on August 3, 2015, and submitted the charge sheet on February 19, 2018.
A total of 12 people, including Joy, gave their depositions before the court in this connection.
