An 81-year-old prominent Bangladeshi-British editor was on Tuesday released on bail on medical grounds, nearly five months after his arrest for allegedly plotting the murder of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s son.
Shafik Rehman, a former editor of vernacular daily Jay Jay Din, was arrested from his Dhaka residence on April 16 after the conviction by a US court for bribing a former FBI agent to get confidential information on Joy with the intent to “scare”, “kidnap” and “hurt” Hasina’s son Sajeeb Wazed Joy in the US.
Police said during interrogation, Rehman had admitted receiving “confidential FBI documents” related to Joy.
Rehman, a former speechwriter for Khaleda Zia, the main Opposition leader and the premier’s arch rival, was released from Kashimpur jail on health grounds, days after the Supreme Court granted him bail. “We have released Shafique Rehman as we received the (apex) court order,” an official of Kashimpur Central Jail said as family members greeted the chartered accountant turned editor with red roses.