Sajeeb Ahmed Wazed Joy has demanded that The Daily Star Editor Mahfuz Anam be detained and tried for ‘treason’ for trying to facilitate a military coup by running a smear campaign against his mother Sheikh Hasina.
Joy, who advises Prime Minister Hasina on ICT affairs, took to Facebook to air his anger.
On Wednesday, Anam at a TV talk-show admitted his ‘big mistake’ by running uncorroborated stories fed by DGFI during the 2007-8 military-controlled caretaker regime. Those stories claimed Hasina had taken bribes.
Joy wrote on his wall early on Friday: “Mahfuz Anam, Editor of The Daily Star, has admitted he published false corruptions stories against my mother Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to defame her.”
He says such ‘unpatriotic and anti-Bangladesh’ activities led to Hasina’s arrest during the 2007-8 military-controlled caretaker government’s regime.
Joy said Anam “did this in support of a military dictatorship in an attempt to remove my mother from politics”.
In his post in English and Bangla, he shared bdnews24.com links for the reports carried in both languages.
He said it was ‘treason’ committed by the editor of a major newspaper because he had run “a false smear campaign to assist in a military coup”.
Joy accused the senior journalist of “constantly writing against politicians as being unethical and corrupt”.
The ATN News talk-show host, Munni Saha, had asked for Anam’s comment over the English-language daily’s alleged connection to a conspiracy to banish Hasina and former prime minister Khaleda Zia from politics.
Fellow panellist bdnews24.com’s Gazi Nasiruddin Ahmed recalled corruption stories the daily had run against Hasina without naming any source when Anam dared him to be specific.
Only then did the senior editor, who was speaking about freedom and responsibility of the media, made the admission.
“It was a big mistake as an editor, in my journalism career,” said Anam. “I admit it.”
Joy wrote, “By his own admission he is completely unethical and a liar.
“He certainly has no right to remain a journalist, let alone an editor.”
He concluded, “On a personal note, his false stories led to my mother’s arrest and spending 11 months in jail. I demand justice. I want Mahfuz Anam behind bars and on trial for treason.”
The Daily Star is widely criticised for ‘backing’ the army-installed government, led by former bureaucrat Fakhruddin Ahmad and armed with sweeping emergency powers to curb media and civil rights.
At the initiative of the Centre for Policy Dialogue, The Daily Star and its sister concern Bangla-language daily Prothom Alo made the ground welcoming an unconstitutional government with a campaign for ‘depoliticisation’ through citizens’ dialogue across the country, critics say.
On several occasions, Hasina has criticised the stance the newspaper took at that time.
Transcom Group, controlled by businessman Latifur Rahman, who in 2007 was named on a list of “corrupt individuals” by the military-run government; Abdur Rouf Chowdhury of Rangs Group and founder Editor SM Ali invested in the owning company Mediaworld.
After SM Ali’s death, majority owner Latifur Rahman appointed former Unesco communications officer Mahfuz Anam, who had some stakes in the company, as editor.
Anam later told bdnews24.com the military dropped Rahman’s name saying it was a ‘mistake’.
Source: Bd news24
