Prominent Bangladeshi Editor Acquitted in High-Profile Abduction Plot Case

A Bangladeshi court acquitted editor Mahmudur Rahman in a 2015 case plotting the abduction and murder of Sheikh Hasina's son. Initially sentenced in absentia, Rahman returned from exile to face charges. The court found accusations against him fabricated, proclaiming his innocence. Rahman vows to continue his fight against perceived fascism.

A court in Bangladesh delivered a verdict acquitting Mahmudur Rahman, the editor of the newspaper Amar Desh, in a case involving an alleged plot to abduct and murder Sajeeb Wazed Joy, son of ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, in 2015. The decision was made by Dhaka's 4th Additional Metropolitan Sessions Judge, Tarique Aziz, who deemed the charges as false and fabricated.

Last year, a Dhaka court had sentenced Rahman to seven years in prison during his absence. Following his return to Bangladesh after over five years in exile, Rahman faced the charges and, on Monday, was found not guilty. He expressed relief at the judgment, asserting his continued opposition to what he calls fascism.

Other individuals implicated in the case, including journalist Shafik Rehman and businessman Mizanur Rahman Bhuiyan, were likewise sentenced in absentia. The case underscored political tensions involving figures from the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, though those charges were also dismissed. Prime Minister Hasina, meanwhile, has been residing in India since the previous year's political upheaval.

(With inputs from agencies.)