‘Govt won’t tolerate’: CA orders probe into editor Nurul Kabir being ‘harassed’ at Dhaka airport

Chief Adviser Professor Yunus has ordered an investigation into eminent editor Nurul Kabir alleging he was harassed at the Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport recently. 

In a statement today (23 November), the CA's press wing said, "We sincerely regret the incident."

The interim government will not tolerate harassment of any journalists in the country, it said. 

"Nurul Kabir has been one of our most respected editors, a leading voice of reason and a top champion of journalistic integrity during his long career," the statement added. 

The editor of New Age today alleged he faced harassment at the city airport twice this week while flying to and from Colombo to attend a press conference.

He went to Colombo on 18 November to attend the Asia Media Forum and got back yesterday.

In a post on his verified Facebook, Kabir wrote, "The country's immigration authorities have been harassing me at the Dhaka airport every time I go abroad for more than two decades."

He alleged he would be interrogated, got his passport confiscated, among other incidents while leaving the country on occasions. 

"This time, on 18 November, as I was going abroad for a media conference, I expected that my days of harassment at the Dhaka airport were over, at least for some time. I was wrong," he said.

"It has been rather doubled this time. One hour while departing and one hour while returning home on 22 November."

"Being patriotic is a matter of being a suspect by the intelligence agencies of the country. I am forced to question the patriotism of the country's intelligence agencies concerned and those in the government/s who supervise them, if at all," he added.