Noakhali Correspondent:
A human chain and protest meeting was organized at the Noakhali Press Club premises demanding withdrawal of the case and opening of the newspaper’s office within the next 10 days after a false and fabricated extortion case was filed against Professor Liaqat Ali Khan, the publisher and editor of the Daily Safal Barta newspaper, for publishing news.
On Sunday (May 18) morning, journalists working in print and electronic media in Noakhali as well as journalists from various upazilas of the district were present at the human chain and rally organized on the road in front of the Noakhali Press Club.
The human chain and protest meeting, chaired by former president of Noakhali Press Club Alamgir Yusuf and moderated by editor of weekly Chalti Dhara newspaper M.B. Alam, was addressed by Borhan Uddin, Noakhali correspondent of Dainik Sangram newspaper, Mizanur Rahman, Noakhali correspondent of Ekattor Television, Masud Parvez, staff reporter of N.TV, Muntasim Billah Sabuj, Noakhali correspondent of Jamuna TV, Mahbubur Rahman, Noakhali correspondent of Prothom Alo, Manik Bhuiyan, Noakhali correspondent of Asian TV, Akbar Hossain Sohag, Noakhali correspondent of News 24, Mohammad Sohel, Noakhali correspondent of Nagorik TV, Iqbal Hossain Majnu, Noakhali correspondent of Jago News, Azad Bhuiyan, Noakhali correspondent of Amar Desh newspaper, Imam Uddin Azad, and independents. Also present at the time were Channel 24 staff reporter Sumon Bhowmik, journalist Jamal Hossain Bishad, Zee TV’s Noakhali correspondent Bikash Sarkar, ATN News’ Noakhali correspondent Faizul Islam Jahan, My TV’s Noakhali correspondent Yunus Sikder, Bangla Vision’s digital representative Kamrul Kanan, Manab Zamin’s Kabirhat Upazila correspondent Zahirul Haque Zahir, Inquilab’s Kompaniganj Upazila correspondent Anwar Toha, Bhorer Kagoj’s Subarnachar Upazila correspondent Liton Dutta, Hatiya Kanth newspaper editor M Dildar Uddin, journalist Mozzamel Hossain Kamal, Dainik Naya Sakal newspaper editor and publisher Jewel Rana Liton, Dainik Alokot’s daily staff reporter AKM Faruk Hossain, Dainik Bartam’s district correspondent Nur Rahman, and others. Speakers at the human chain and protest meeting said that for a long time, a group including district BNP member Abdul Motaleb Appel has been trying to seize the shops of the market by forcibly evicting the traders who took ownership of the Cooperative Bank Limited Market in Noakhali district town. As part of the forcible seizure operation, the members of the group locked the office of the Daily Safal Barta located on the ground floor of the market. Earlier, the local newspaper Daily Safal Barta published several reports about the seizure of the Cooperative Market. The speakers also said that in the wake of publishing that objective news, BNP leader Abdul Motaleb Appel filed a case in the Noakhali Senior Judicial Magistrate Court on May 13 against Professor Liaqat Ali Khan, a senior journalist of Noakhali, on false charges of demanding extortion of Tk 20 lakh. They gave a 10-day ultimatum demanding the withdrawal of the false and harassing cases filed against journalist Liaquat Ali Khan. At the same time, they also strongly demanded the opening of the office of the daily Sofwal Barta. In addition, the journalists demanded the withdrawal of the false cases filed against journalists nationwide from the human chain program, and an end to journalistic torture.
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