A court, after three years, has acquitted Anisur Rahman, Kurigram’s Roumari upazila correspondent for the daily Sangbad, in a case filed against him under the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Act back in 2017.
Bangladesh Cyber Tribunal Judge Mohammad Ash Sams Joglul Hossain acquitted the journalist Thursday, confirmed Ibrahim Khalil, the defendant lawyer.
He said: “Bangladesh Cyber Tribunal on Thursday accepted the police investigation report and acquitted Anisur Rahman as the allegations against him were not proven in the police investigation.”
On October 31, 2017, police arrested Anisur Rahman from Roumari upazila of Kurigram in a case filed against him by a local Jubo League activist Shah Kamal under Section 57 of the ICT Act.
Subsequently, Anisur had to spend a total of 71 days in jail on two occasions during the course of the case proceedings before acquiring bail from the high court.
Talking to Dhaka Tribune, Ansiur Rahman said he was framed after he expressed unwillingness to sue a person in an ICT case for disrespecting Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and President Abdul Hamid on social media.
He said: “The then officer-in-charge of Roumari police station framed me in the case and for this, although I was innocent, I had to spend time in jail.
“After I was arrested, police confiscated computers and other belongings from my house which have not been returned to me yet.”
