Blitz editor Shoib jailed for 7yrs
Blitz editor Shoib jailed for 7yrs
A Dhaka court today sentenced Salauddin Shoib Chowdhury, the editor of English weekly Blitz, to seven years rigorous imprisonment for sedition.
Mohammad Abdul Hanif, then officer-in-charge (OC) of the Airport Police Station, filed the case against Shoib on January 24, 2004 for his involvement with Israeli intelligence agency Mossad.
Judge Md Jahirul Haque of the Court of Metropolitan Sessions Judge handed down the verdict in presence of Shoib, who is now in jail in another forgery case.
In his complaint filed with the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate's Court in Dhaka, OC Hanif said Shoib was arrested on November 29 in 2003 from Shahjalal International Airport (then Zia International Airport) for his alleged link with Mossad.
Shoib was supposed to present paper at a Tel Aviv seminar, which proved beyond doubt that he had been involved in anti-state activities for a long time, he claimed.
Different fax and e-mail messages seized from Shoib also proved that he passed sensitive information out of the country, stated the complaint.
A project profile seeking a fund of Tk 12 crore from Jews in Israel was also seized from him. He sought the fund to publish three dailies -- the Dainik Sonali Din, Dainik Rupantar, Dainik Paribartan.
"As Shoib is engaged in spying and smuggling information out of the country for a long time to tarnish the image of Bangladesh, he should be charged with anti-state activities," the complainant said.