NEC condemns PM’s key political aide tearing up Amar Desh newspaper in Facebook video over reports about him

The National Editor’s Council (NEC) has condemned the incident of the Prime Minister’s Political Assistant Md Rashed Khan tearing up a copy of major Bengali newspaper Amar Desh in a video shared on his Facebook account, describing the act as a direct attack on press freedom.

In the video, Rashed Khan also used aggressive language and made hateful remarks against the newspaper and its editor, Mahmudur Rahman, in response to a report published in Amar Desh on October 31.

In a joint statement issued on Sunday, NEC President Shafik Rehman and Treasurer Shafiqul Alam expressed deep concern and strongly protested the incident.

“Being in a responsible and important position like that of the Prime Minister’s Political Assistant, recording and circulating a video of such a disgraceful act as tearing up a newspaper amounts to a direct attack on the media. Through this behaviour, he has denied the fundamental principles of press freedom,” the statement said.

The NEC leaders said Rashed Khan could have sent a rejoinder, approached the Press Council or sought legal recourse if he was aggrieved by any report published in Amar Desh or another newspaper.

“But without taking any such steps, what message did he convey about newspapers by circulating the video on Facebook? Tearing up a newspaper while holding a responsible government position is clearly a provocative act,” they said.

The statement also referred to a recent demand by Tarek Rahman, member secretary of the Amjanata Dal and a member of the prime minister's entourage during a recent foreign visit, to bring Amar Desh Editor Mahmudur Rahman under the law over an old report published by the newspaper.

The NEC leaders said the demand was not only provocative but also tantamount to a direct threat to the editor.

They recalled that during the previous autocratic and fascist government, the banned organisations Jubo League and Chhatra League had torn up copies of Amar Desh, set them on fire and attacked the newspaper's office.

“It is extremely unfortunate that responsible figures in the current elected government are also engaging in almost identical behaviour,” they said.

The NEC leaders urged those concerned to refrain from such conduct, warning that attacks on newspapers, threats against editors and the spread of hatred were effectively restricting press freedom in the country.

The incident

The statement comes a day after Rashed Khan on October 31 tore up a copy of Amar Desh in a video, protesting two recent lead stories published about him by the daily.

In the video, Rashed is seen ripping the newspaper while expressing anger over what he described as attempts to tarnish his reputation through its coverage.

The latest report, published on Saturday, October 31, carried the headline, “Hasina's son Joy and some neo-BNP members have united”. The newspaper had also published another lead story on October 15 under the headline, “What are the Prime Minister's advisers and assistants doing?”, which included remarks about Rashed Khan.

In his video statement, Rashed Khan alleged that the October 15 report had deliberately targeted him, despite devoting only a few lines to his activities. He also criticised the latest headline, saying it attempted to associate him with former prime minister Sheikh Hasina's son, Sajeeb Wazed Joy, despite his joining the BNP.

Rashed Khan suggested that Amar Desh's coverage was linked to his recent allegations against Jamaat-e-Islami. He has claimed that the party's Nayeb-e-Ameer Mia Golam Porwar held a meeting with a senior Indian intelligence official and challenged Jamaat to investigate the matter.

He said he had offered to share evidence with a party-appointed investigation committee or directly with Jamaat Ameer Dr Shafiqur Rahman. He also said Jamaat could file a defamation case against him if it could establish that his allegations were false.

Expressing disappointment with Amar Desh editor Mahmudur Rahman, he said he had previously held the editor in high regard because of his own experiences of persecution under the Awami League regime.