All but one senior lawyer on Monday in their opinions opposed the writ petition filed by a Supreme Court lawyer seeking a ban on the broadcasting of Doha-based television channel Al Jazeera in Bangladesh.
Supreme Court lawyer Amanul Kabir Emon, also a ruling Awami League leader, filed the writ petition on February 8 seeking the ban on Al Jazeera for airing a ‘misleading, malicious and defamatory’ documentary titled ‘All the Prime Minister’s Men’ on February 1.
Former attorneys general AJ Mohammad Ali and Fida M Kamal, lawyers Kamal ul Alam, Probir Neogi and Shahdeen Malik opposed the writ petition, stating that the petitioner ‘is not an aggrieved person’ as required by Article 102(2) of the constitution to file a writ petition.
But senior lawyer Abdul Matin Khasru, also a ruling party leader and lawmaker, opposed the contentions of the five lawyers.
He stated that the writ petition was maintainable as the petitioner had an interest and was very much aware of the issue being a lawyer and the court can issue necessary orders to block or ban Al Jazeera in Bangladesh to stop recurrence of airing such defamatory documentary in future.
The online bench of Justice Md Mozibur Rahman Miah and Justice Md Kamrul Hossain Mollah adjourned the hearing until 11:00 am on Wednesday for hearing argument of attorney general AM Amin Uddin.
On February 10, the High Court decided to hear an opinion from six senior lawyers on whether the broadcasting of the television channel could be banned or blocked in Bangladesh.
The court asked for their opinion on whether the writ petition was maintainable without hearing the television authorities and if the petitioner was ‘an aggrieved person’.
The lawyers were also asked to explain whether it was necessary to remove or delete or block streaming of the Al Jazeera documentary and an article titled ‘The gangster, the general and the prime minister of Bangladesh.’
The Al Jazeera report, over an hour-long film with narration, accused the Bangladesh Army chief, General Aziz Ahmed, of providing illegal support to his brothers, convicted and fugitive, to establish and run businesses abroad.
