Bangladesh minister defends action against editor

KATHMANDU, March 5: Hasanul Haq Inu, Bangladeshi minister of information, interacted with select editors and journalists at the Bangladesh House in Kathmandu on Monday. The country has been cracking down on journalists and independent bloggers who have dared to criticize the government. Mahfuz Anam, the editor and co-founder of The Daily Star English daily, has come under fire with Bangladeshi government charging him for treason.

Tahmima Anam, Mahfuz's daughter, wrote a moving piece for The New York Times entitled "My Father, the Editor, Under Fire" on Friday, in which she describes how she fears for the safety of her father. Editor Mahfuz admitted that his paper published a story in 2007 about corruption by Sheikh Hasina, the current prime minister. He has admitted that it was their "big mistake" to publish the story based on the leaks from then military government.


When asked about Anam's case, Minister Inu said that the country cannot tolerate terrorists and radicals who are out there to destroy the country. He stressed that Bangladesh has an independent judiciary that looks at case-by-case.

Bangladesh is ranked 146 out of 180 countries in the 2015 World Press Freedom Index. Nepal, at 105, is well above Bangladesh and India that ranks 136.

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