A court today withdrew the arrest warrant against veteran journalist Shafik Rehman in a case related to the 2015 plot to abduct and murder Sheikh Hasina's son, Sajeeb Wazed Joy, in the USA.

Dhaka Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Mahbubul Haque passed the order after Rehman surrendered and appealed to withdraw the warrant, following an appeal against his conviction.

"On September 22, the home ministry suspended Rehman's sentence for a year on the condition that he surrenders before the lower court and files an appeal," said defence counsel Syed Joynul Abedin Mejbah.

Previously, on August 17, 2023, Rehman, along with four others, including former Amar Desh acting editor Mahmudur Rahman, was sentenced to seven years in prison.

The other convicts include Jasas vice-president Mohammad Ullah Mamun, his son Rizvi Ahmed Caesar, and Mizanur Rahman Bhuiyan, a businessman based in the USA.

The case was initially filed by police on August 3, 2015, at Paltan Police Station, with the charge sheet submitted on February 19, 2018. A total of 12 witnesses, including Joy, testified throughout the hearings.

BDST: 1314 HRS, SEPT 30, 2024
SMS