Court rejects petition to take Kishore in remand

A Dhaka court on Sunday rejected a petition submitted to take cartoonist Ahmed Kabir Kishore in remand, in connection with a case filed under Digital Security Act.

The court of Metropolitan Magistrate Mohammad Jashim passed the order after Barrister Jyotirmoy Barua submitted a petition seeking cancellation of the remand prayer around 1:15pm today.

The lawyer also submitted another application before the court, informing that Kishore was "tortured inhumanely" after his arrest on May 6 last year.

Due to torture, Kishore sustained injuries in his ears and left leg and he cannot walk properly, Barrister Jyotirmoy said.

He said that steps should be taken against those responsible for the torture.

After filing charge sheet in the case, the law enforcers have no jurisdiction to submit remand prayer against Kishore in such situation, he said in the application.

On the other hand, prosecution could not provide right information about the accused to the court.

However, Kishore was not produced during the hearing in the day.

Meanwhile, Metropolitan Magistrate Mohammad Jashim asked Barrister Jyotirmoy to submit the application before the court of Dhaka Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Abu Bakar Siddique.

When the lawyer submitted the application to the court of Dhaka Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Abu Bakar Siddique, the judge asked him to submit it to the concerned court -- Metropolitan Sessions Judge Court in Dhaka -- as he has no jurisdiction to forward such petition to the senior court.

On Tuesday, Md Afchhar Ahmed, sub-inspector of Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime unit, submitted the three-day remand prayer for interrogating Kishore in connection with the case.

Eleven people -- including Kishore and writer Mushtaq -- were charged with "spreading rumours and carrying out anti-government activities" on May 6 last year.

Swedish-Bangladeshi journalist Tasneem Khalil who runs Netra News, Hungary-based entrepreneur Zulkarnain Saer Khan, and US-based journalist Shahed Alam, were among others named in the case.

According to the FIR, Kishore was picked up on May 5 from his Kakrail home. It is mentioned that upon interrogation, he disclosed the name of Mushtaq who was then apprehended from his Lalmatia house on the same day. However, Mushtaq's family alleged that he was picked up in the early hours of May 4.

Kishore and Mushtaq landed in jail after they were produced before a Dhaka court on May 6 last year. One of the charges against them is "tarnishing the image of the nation".

On February 4, Sub-inspector Md Mohsin Sardar of Ramna Police Station pressed charges against three of the accused, dropping the names of eight others. The three are: Kishore, Mushtaq and Didarul Islam Bhuiyan, an activist of a platform called 'Rastrachinta'.

On February 10, a Dhaka tribunal however, ordered the Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime (CTTC) unit to further investigate all the 11 accused.

Kishore and Mushtaq have been behind bars for nine months, while Didarul was granted bail in September last year.

Kishore and Mushtaq's bail petitions have been rejected six times, according to their lawyers.