A Dhaka court has rejected the bail petition of journalist Anis Alamgir in the corruption case filed by Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC).
Dhaka Metropolitan Senior Special Judge Md Sabbir Faiz issued the order after hearing the petition on Sunday.
Anis's lawyer Taslima Jahan Popy said, "We held a hearing seeking bail for Anis Alamgir. The court rejected the bail petition.
Now, we will decide the next course of action. We will decide whether to go to the High Court or apply for bail here."
The High Court had previously granted bail to Anis in a case under the Anti-Terrorism Act. The High Court bench of Justice KM Zahid Sarwar and Justice Sheikh Abu Taher made the decision on Mar 5. The journalist was not released since he remained arrested in another case filed by ACC.
Now Anis has been denied bail in the ACC case.
A team of Detective Branch took journalist Anis to the agency's office on the night of Dec 14 for "questioning".
The same day at midnight, a man named Ariyan Ahmed, identified as a member of an organisation called the "July Revolutionary Alliance", filed a case against Alamgir and three others, accusing them of "conspiring to destabilise the state and inciting a banned organisation".
The three others accused in the case are actress Meher Afroz Shaon, fashion model Maria Kispotta, and television host Imtu Ratish.
Alamgir was remanded for five days on Dec 15 and sent to prison on Dec 20, where he remains.
On Jan 22, the Dhaka Metropolitan Sessions Judge's Court rejected his bail, and his lawyer appealed the decision with the High Court.
Then, on Jan 15, the ACC filed a case against Anis over charges of acquiring illegal wealth. On Jan 28, the court showed him arrested in response to an ACC petition.
The case documents states, "Information has been found that Anis Alamgir has acquired assets worth a total of Tk 40.9 million, including immovable assets worth Tk 2.5 million and movable assets worth Tk 38 million. In addition, his family and other expenses have been estimated at Tk 1.59 million. As a result, the total amount of acquired assets stands at Tk 42.5 million."
"Anis Alamgir's total income from legitimate sources stands at Tk 9.9 million. This includes past savings of Tk 5.4 million, income from talk shows and consultancy worth Tk 1.9 million, Tk 2.2 million from plot sale and Tk 324,053 from savings certificates and bank interest. This means that his assets are Tk 32.6 million more than his declared and acceptable income, which is about 77 percent of the total acquired assets and is considered as assets outside known income."
Anisur Rahman Alamgir, who works for various media outlets including the Daily Ajker Kagoj, is widely known by his pen name Anis Alamgir.
Anis, a part-time university teacher, made headlines over his statements on various issues, including contemporary politics, on television talk shows. Several of his Facebook posts also made the news.
His wife Shahnaz Chowdhury claims her husband is facing jail time for exercising his right to "free speech".
�"bdnews24
