DHAKA: A prominent lawyer and newspaper publisher tied to Bangladesh’s political opposition has been arrested on defamation charges amid concern the government is acting tough on dissent ahead of national elections, police said on Tuesday.

Detectives arrested Moinul Hosein late on Monday after raiding an opposition leader’s home in the capital, said Mahbub Alam, a joint commissioner of the detective branch of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police.

Mr Hosein is the publisher of the English-language New Nation daily and heads its editorial board.

Mr Alam said the warrant issued by a court in northern Bangladesh on Monday involved a television talk show appearance where Mr Hosein called a journalist “characterless” after she asked him if he represented the Jamaat-i-Islami party to a recently formed opposition alliance.

Details of the charges were not immediately clear including whether they were related to a recently passed digital security law.

The head of the alliance is another prominent lawyer and head of a smaller party, Kamal Hossain, who was chosen by prominent opposition figures and civil society members, including Mr Hosein.

The main party in the alliance is the Bangladesh Nationalist Party headed by former prime minister Khaleda Zia, who is now in jail for corruption and whose elder son is the party’s heir-apparent and would face prison himself if he returned from London where he lives.

Recently a court in Dhaka sentenced Tarique Rahman to life in prison for a 2004 grenade attack on then-opposition leader Sheikh Hasina, now prime minister, in which 24 people were killed. Ms Hasina narrowly escaped.

The opposition alliance was formed this month in hopes of defeating the ruling alliance of Ms Hasina in next elections, which are expected to be held in December.

The Jamaat-i-Islami is a close ally of Ms Zia’s party, and Ms Hasina’s government has executed almost all the party’s top leaders for their role in killings, arson and rape during a war in 1971.

Mr Hosein was a former adviser to an army-backed caretaker government in 2006-08 when both Ms Hasina and Ms Zia were arrested. Ms Hasina later came out and won the elections in 2008 to form the government.

Mr Hosein’s arrest came hours after Ms Hasina criticised his comment against the female journalist and asked all female journalists to file defamation charges against him.

The government has recently passed a digital security law, despite widespread criticism by journalists and rights groups that it would be used against freedom of speech and press freedom. The government says it has been enacted to protect the country from misinformation and propaganda.

Published in Dawn, October 24th, 2018

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