Al Jazeera Documentary Staff Correspondent Staff Correspondent
Exercising an extraordinary jurisdiction, the High Court yesterday directed the telecom regulator to immediately remove Al Jazeera report All the Prime Minister s Men from online platforms in order to prevent further worsening of the situation .
The court also ordered the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) to contact Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and Twitter, if necessary, to remove the report.
The HC bench of Justice Md Mozibur Rahman Miah and and Justice Md Kamrul Hossain Mollah gave the directive after disposing of a writ petition filed over the issue.
However, the court observed, We find that the petitioner is not any person aggrieved and has no locus standi [right to bring an action or to appear in a court], since there has been no prescribed law that can guide respondent no-5 [BTRC] to ask any international social media to take down the co
Writ for Ban on Al Jazeera: 5 of 6 amici curiae against the plea
Staff Correspondent
Staff Correspondent
Five out of six legal expert amici curiae (friends of court) yesterday told the High Court that the writ petition seeking a ban on the broadcast of Al Jazeera and removal of its report Al the Prime Minister s Men from digital platforms was unacceptable.
Since there is no allegation of violation of fundamental rights because of the Al Jazeera report, the writ petitioner has no logical reason to be aggrieved and move the petition, they said.
The petitioner has not served any legal notice to the government demanding steps to this effect and a decision to block or restrict Al Jazeera may tarnish freedom of speech and freedom of press in Bangladesh. Besides, the laws of the land are not enforceable to restrict freedom of speech outside the country, according to their opinions.