A Dhaka court has issued arrest warrants against Khairul Alam, former Joint General Secretary of the Dhaka Union of Journalists, and Asaduzzaman Asad in a defamation case filed by Abdul Hai Shikder, Editor of the Daily Jugantor.
On Sunday, Metropolitan Magistrate Nazmin Akter issued the warrants after the two accused failed to appear before the court on the scheduled date. The complainant’s lawyer, Anwarul Islam, confirmed the matter.
The third accused in the case, Mahbub Morshed, Managing Editor of Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha (BSS), is currently out on bail.
He appeared in court and applied for permanent bail, but the magistrate granted him interim bail until the next hearing.
Abdul Hai Shikder filed the defamation case on March 23, alleging that the three individuals spread false and defamatory content about him on social media. On that day, the court summoned all three to appear.
According to the complaint, on March 17, Mahbub Morshed posted a “fabricated poem” on his Facebook account, attributing it to poet and editor Abdul Hai Shikder. In the caption, he wrote: “Please read how a poet in Bangladesh insulted Begum Khaleda Zia. Despite such hatred, these poets still wish to benefit from the BNP.”
Earlier, on January 16, Khairul Alam had shared the same poem on Facebook and commented: “This poem about Sheikh Hasina and Khaleda Zia was once gifted to Ershad by Abdul Hai Shikder. After Saiful Alam’s removal, he is now the editor of Jugantor. Journalists have historically been powerful — once again proven! #LongLiveJournalism”
Asaduzzaman Asad also shared the poem and wrote: “I received this poem, written by our beloved nationalist poet and current Jugantor editor Abdul Hai Shikder, via Messenger.
A nationalist colleague sent it to me. Out of respect for the poet, I am sharing it. It was reportedly given to dictator Ershad.”
The complaint alleges that the poem and related posts were completely false, baseless, fabricated, and malicious, aimed at damaging Abdul Hai Shikder’s reputation.
