Lawmaker sues three journalists

A court on Monday summoned three journalists following filing of two defamation cases.
The journalists are Fasiul Islam Bachchu, Pirojpur district correspondent of Bangla daily Samakal, Rafikul Islam, Barisal bureau chief of daily Kaler Kantha and Shirina Afroz, secretary of Pirojpur Press Club and district correspondent of Kaler Kantha.
Earlier in the day, Mawlana AKM Abdul Awal, ruling Awami League lawmaker of Pirojpur-2, lodged the cases with Senior Judicial Magistrate's court.
Of the two cases, one was filed against Bachchu, also a witness to the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT), and another against Rafikul and Shirina.
In the cass, the plaintiff said two fabricated reports-one on Awal's Nazirpur visit by helicopter and the other terming him tender manipulator and corrupt-were published in Samakal and Kaler Kantha on March 9 and 10 respectively, which tarnished his reputation.
Senior Judicial Magistrate Mahbubur Rahman asked the accused to appear before the court on March 24.
Condemning the filing of cases, journalists later held an emergency meeting at Pirojpur Press Club and threatened to go for tougher programmes if the cases are not withdrawn immediately.
On the basis of a report titled 'Jamaat godfathers still evade arrest' published in Samakal on February 10, 2007, Bachchu was made an ICT witness.