How foreign media covered Prothom Alo editor’s arrest warrant

The news of an arrest warrant being issued against Prothom Alo editor Matiur Rahman and nine others appeared in the news media of various countries on Thursday.

Washington Post, New York Times, Voice of America and Washington Times carried the AP news agency report on their online news portals. The report said that the court had issued an arrest warrant against renowned editor Matiur Rahman and nine others regarding an incident where a schoolboy was electrocuted and died during an event.

The report also said that Prothom Alo was an influential newspaper in Bangladesh and that it had huge popularity among the country’s growing middle class.

In Canada, the Toronto-based news portal City News and the Vancouver-based radio channel News 1130 also carried the AP report. Turkey-based news agency Anadolu Agency (AA) published a report on their own regarding the arrest warrant.

Northeast Now, the Assam-based media outlet in India, published a report, ‘Arrest warrant against Bangladesh newspaper editor’.

The news agency AFP’s headline read ‘Bangladesh court orders top editor’s arrest’. It said that Matiur Rahman, editor of the daily Prothom Alo, is an outspoken champion of freedom of expression in the country. He already faces at least 55 cases.

"The dozens of cases are part of a larger, organised assault on independent media in Bangladesh dating back several years, New York-based Human Rights Watch said in 2016 when they were filed," The AFP report added.

India’s English language daily Business Standard and NDTV, Saudi Arabia’s English daily Saudi Gazette and Japan-based Japan Times published the AFP report. The same report appeared in the Middle East’s Al Khaleej Today.

India's Statesman published a report 'Arrest warrant for B’desh daily editor over student’s death'. The report was initially prepared by news agency IANS.

DW Bangla also published the report prominently while BBC Bangla carried the news both online and on radio.