Senior journalist Shafik Rehman has been acquitted by a Dhaka court in a case filed over a plot to abduct and kill Sajeeb Wazed Joy, son of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, for which he was sentenced to seven years in jail in 2023.
Judge Tarique Ezaz of Dhaka 4th Additional Metropolitan Sessions Judge’s Court delivered the verdict on Tuesday, Rehman’s lawyer, Abdus Salam Himel, confirmed the acquittal.
Shafik Rehman was present at the court during judgment, and he expressed his satisfaction over the verdict. He also thanked the judge, said advocate Kamruzzaman Sumon.
“After nine long years, the truth has been established. I sincerely thank and commend the honourable judges. They have also proved that the judiciary is now independent,” Rehman said.
According to the case documents, between a time prior to September 2011 and the filing of the case, high-ranking leaders of the BNP and its allies, including Mohammad Ullah Mamun, vice-president of BNP’s cultural wing JASAS, allegedly conspired to abduct and murder Joy in the United States.
The plot was said to have been planned in various locations including Dhaka, New York and the UK.
Detective Branch (DB) Inspector Fazlur Rahman filed the case with Paltan Police Station on August 3, 2015.
On February 19, 2018, police submitted a charge sheet against five individuals, including Shafik Rehman and Mahmudur Rahman. A total of 12 witnesses, including Joy himself, testified in the case.
On August 17, 2023, Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Asaduzzaman Noor sentenced all five accused to seven years in prison.
Shafik Rehman surrendered before the court of Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Md. Mahbubul Haque on September 30, 2023, as part of the appeal process.
The court subsequently withdrew the arrest warrant and suspended the sentence pending appeal.
The final appeal hearing was completed on April 27, 2024.