In a recent development, the High Court issued directives on August 14 to publish a notification in newspapers concerning its prior order that prohibited the dissemination of Tarique Rahman’s speeches by all media outlets. Further amplifying its stance, on August 22, the High Court scheduled a hearing to address the prohibition of broadcasting Tarique Rahman’s speeches on social media platforms.
Preceding this move, a notice of the rule was dispatched to Tarique Rahman’s Gulshan residence, as indicated in the filed writ. The legal action stems from a petition filed in 2015 by Nasreen Siddiqui Lina, a Supreme Court lawyer, requesting a ban on the speeches of Tarique Rahman, the then Senior Vice Chairman and current Acting Chairman of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP). This call for restriction was spurred by Tarique Rahman’s contentious comments about Bangladesh’s history and its founding leader, Bangabandhu.
Following a thorough review of the writ, the court rendered an interim order along with the issuance of the rule. Notably, the respondents in this case encompass prominent figures including the Secretaries of Information and Law, the Inspector General of Police, the Director General of BTV (Bangladesh Television), the Chairman of BTRC (Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission), the Chief News Editor of Ekushe TV, the Editor of Kaler Kantha newspaper, and Tarique Rahman himself.
