Writ seeking ban on Al Jazeera broadcast: HC appoints six Amicus curiae

The High Court (HC) on Wednesday appointed six Amicus curiae (friends of court) for their opinion over the acceptability of a writ petition seeking a ban on the broadcast of Al Jazeera in Bangladesh.

The bench of justice Md Mozibur Rahman Miah and justice Md Kamrul Hossain Mollah passed the order.

The six senior lawyers are - AJ Mohammad Ali, Kamal Ul Alam, Abdul Matin Khashru, Fida M Kamal, Probir Niyogi and Shahdeen Malik. The court will hear their opinion on 15 February.

They will provide their opinion on the acceptability of the writ petition, eligibility of the petitioner to file any writ regarding this and the eligibility of the HC to issue any order over the ban on the broadcast of Al Jazeera.

Lawyer Enamul Kabir Imon moved for the writ petitioner while deputy attorney general Nowroz Md Rasel Chowdhury represented the state.

Supreme Court lawyer Enamul Kabir Imon filed the writ on Monday.

The writ also sought measures to remove Al Jazeera report “All the Prime Ministers’ Men” from all online platforms including Facebook, Twitter and Youtube.

Authorities including the secretary of posts, telecommunications and information technology ministry, Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) chairman, and the Inspector General of Police were made the respondents to the writ petition.

Earlier, Qatar-based Al Jazeera broadcast the report on 1 February. In a statement, the Foreign Ministry termed "All the Prime Minister's Men" a “false, defamatory and a politically motivated smear campaign".

Bangladesh Army Headquarters also strongly denounced the report, saying it is a part of a move to break the harmony among different government organs.

Foreign minister AK Abdul Momen on Saturday said Bangladesh was preparing to sue Al Jazeera over airing the report with inaccurate information.