A defamation lawsuit amounting to Tk10 crore has been filed against Altamash Kabir, the editor of Daily Sangbad and an Awami League leader, over a news article labeling journalists from the Jagannath University Journalists’ Association as pro-Chhatrashibir, an Islamist student organization commonly known as Shibir.
The other defendants in the case are Salam Zubayer, chief reporter of Daily Sangbad, and Mahmud Tanjeed, the newspaper’s correspondent at Jagannath University (JnU).
Altamash Kabir is also a member of the Awami League’s culture affairs sub-committee and a former aspirant for the candidacy for the Narsingdi-2 constituency.
On Wednesday, Imran Hossain, office secretary of the JnU Journalists’ Association, filed the case with the Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate’s Court.
The court said it will issue an order after reviewing the submitted documents.
The complaint centers on an article published on October 11, titled “Jagannath University: Desperate Shibir to take over everything secretly.”
The article claimed that pro-Shibir journalists had taken control of the Journalists’ Association office following the fall of Sheikh Hasina on August 5.
The association’s elected representatives, who operate through direct voting, reportedly have no political affiliations.
The lawsuit alleges that the defamatory article caused Tk10 crore in damages by labeling the journalists pro-Shibir.
Imran Hossain, the plaintiff, criticized the Awami League for its alleged practice of politically labeling journalists.
“The Awami League has taken the politics of labeling to such a terrible level that journalists are being tagged as Shibir supporters. Even now, the specter of the fallen regime continues this practice. We want justice for this,” he said.
Shafiqul Islam Sabuj, the plaintiff’s lawyer said that the influence of the Chhatra League extends beyond the political arena into journalism.
“They are still re-labeling ordinary students and journalists to maintain their previous image of control. After the anti-discrimination student movement, they cannot be given this opportunity in a dictatorship-free country,” he said.
The court has taken time to review the case documents.
Sabuj indicated that they will escalate the matter to a higher court if the court does not accept the case despite the evidence.