Sedition Case: Charges framed against Tarique

A Dhaka court yesterday framed sedition charges against BNP Senior Vice-Chairman Tarique Rahman and three others in a case filed over broadcasting a “provocative speech” of Tarique.

Former chairman of Ekushey TV Abdus Salam and former journalists of the TV channel Mahathir Farooki Khan and Kanak Sarwar are the other accused.

Salam, now on bail, pleaded innocence and demanded justice after Judge Kamrul Hossain Mollah of the Metropolitan Sessions Judge's Court read out the charges.

The journalists went into hiding after securing bail.

The judge set January 15 for starting the trial.

On October 23, the same court issued arrest warrants against Tarique, Farooki and Sarwar after accepting the charge sheet. The BNP senior vice-chairman is now in London.

Detectives on September 6 last year pressed charges against the four.

Police had picked up Salam on January 5, 2015, several hours after ETV broadcasted live Tarique's speech from London.

Three days later, the case was filed with Tejgaon Police Station against Tarique, Salam and several other unknown people for broadcasting a “false, fabricated, and provocative” speech of Tarique.

Different courts had earlier issued arrest warrants against Tarique, accused in over 26 cases, including the August 21 grenade attack cases.