Why halting ETV telecast not illegal
The High Court yesterday questioned the legality of the "sudden suspension" of the transmission of Ekushey Television (ETV), which went off the air on January 5 in several districts after telecasting the speech of BNP leader Tarique Rahman.
Upon pressure from government authorities, the cable operators halted its broadcast for giving "excessive" coverage to Tarique, a journalist of the private television station told The Daily Star yesterday, seeking anonymity.
ETV is completely out of the network in 10 districts and Dhaka, partially in 32 others, while it is fully operational in 22 districts, said the journalist.
Tarique allegedly maligned Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman in his speech.
After hearing a petition filed recently by a reporter and two viewers of ETV, Justice Quazi Reza-Ul Hoque and Justice Abu Taher Md Saifur Rahman asked the government to explain in three weeks why the obstruction, for which no reasons were shown, would not be declared illegal and why it should not remove the restrictions on its broadcast.
The petitioners' counsel, Rafique-Ul Huq, said its transmission was suspended without issuing any notice, which was against the constitutional right to freedom of expression.
Within a few days of the incident, ETV Chairman Abdus Salam was remanded in a sedition case filed for airing a "false, fabricated and provocative" speech by Tarique.
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