It would be summons, not arrest warrant: Law minister

Hours after a Narayanganj court had issued an arrest warrant against The Daily Star Editor and Publisher Mahfuz Anam, Law Minister Anisul Huq has said it would be summons, not arrest warrant.

“I have talked to the law officers in Narayanganj. I am saying this with responsibility that it won't be an arrest warrant, it would be a summons,” the minister told The Daily Star last night.

The court of Narayanganj Senior Judicial Magistrate Saiduzzaman Sharif issued the warrant of arrest Tuesday afternoon acting on a libel suit filed against Anam for reports published during the 2007-2008 caretaker government regime based on information given by Taskforce Interrogation Cell (TFIC).

Advocate Muhammad Mohsin Mia, joint secretary of district lawyers’ association and an activist of city unit of ruling Awami League, filed the case seeking Tk 10 crore in compensation.

According to the complainant’s advocate Mahmuda Mala, Mohsin pointed out that the Daily Star editor had himself talked about publishing the reports. Identifying himself as a worker of Sheikh Hasina, the complainant said the AL chief had to undergo a lot of harassment due to the reports.

The arrest warrant was issued although the Jatiya Sangsad had passed a bill on February 2, 2011 scrapping the provision of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) for directly issuing arrest warrant against journalists, writers and others for writing or saying anything defamatory.