Mahmudur Rahman moves to sue BNP leader Wahiduzzaman, Maruf Mallick

An application to file a lawsuit has been submitted in a Dhaka court against two individuals on charges of spreading defamatory and false information on social media against the newspaper Amar Desh involving the attacks on Prothom Alo and The Daily Star.

The two individuals are: BNP information and technology affairs secretary AKM Wahiduzzaman Apollo, and writer and columnist AFM Rashedul Haque Mallick, also known as Maruf Mallick.

Mahmudur Rahman, editor of the newspaper Amar Desh, filed this lawsuit application in the court of Dhaka metropolitan magistrate Md Jewel Rana today, Sunday.

The plaintiff's lawyer, Tanvir Ahmed Al Amin, stated that the court has recorded the plaintiff's statement. The court has scheduled 23 February for the order on the lawsuit application.

The lawsuit application states that following the news of the death of Inqilab Moncho convener Sharif Osman Hadi, students and the general public broke out in protests across the country, including Dhaka, on the night of 18 December. Taking advantage of this, some individuals attacked the offices of Prothom Alo and The Daily Star that night, creating a tragic and unwarranted situation. Regarding this matter, an opportunistic group, including the accused, engaged in a conspiracy against Mahmudur Rahman and his newspaper Amar Desh. They published intentionally false news with the aim of creating an unstable situation in the country. By doing so, they engaged in activities to serve illegal interests by creating public confusion and social disorder, as well as damaging his social reputation. At around 10:30 pm on 19 December, Maruf Mallick made an intentional and defamatory post against Amar Desh. Wahiduzzaman alias Apollo cited Maruf Mallick's post as logical. Subsequently, they colluded to spread this post on Facebook.

It further states that the falsehoods spread by the accused have severely tarnished the image of the plaintiff and his newspaper daily Amar Desh. Additionally, all journalists, officials, employees, technicians, and individuals associated with the newspaper have been defamed. Enmity, hatred, dissatisfaction, and malice toward them have been incited in the public mind.