City Desk :
Law Adviser Professor Asif Nazrul has addressed concerns about Mahmudur Rahman, acting editor of the daily Amar Desh, being sent to jail after his surrender to a court, saying there was nothing the government could do since the journalist did not file a stay petition.
“If he had filed a petition, we would have recommended a stay of his prison sentence,” Asif said in a video message on Wednesday, reports media.
“This incident has saddened many and angered some. You might wonder why Mahmudur Rahman, a leading figure in the anti-fascist struggle during the current government’s rule after the students’ revolution, is in jail.”
“I have a lot of respect for Mahmudur Rahman. In this country, there was fascist rule under Sheikh Hasina and he initiated an intellectual struggle against it. For this, he had to endure torture and oppression,” he said.
The adviser said the trial in Mahmudur’s case has been completed and the punishment handed down.
Asif highlighted that before his return to the country, a baseless case was also filed against his wife.
“He had applied for a stay of his sentence in that case, and when the Ministry of Home Affairs sought our opinion, we strongly recommended a positive view,” he said.
Asif compared Mahmudur’s situation to that of another journalist, Shafique Rehman, who was also sentenced in the same case.