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Dhaka South mayor Sheikh Fazle Noor Taposh has threatened to sue The Daily Star for defamation if it does not issue an unconditional apology and pay damages over a ‘satirical piece’ on tree-felling published by the English newspaper last month.
Taposh’s lawyer Mejbahur Rahman made a statement on the situation at a media conference on Saturday at his offices in Dhaka’s Karwan Bazar.
“The Daily Star has responded to our legal notice,” Rahman said. “They said ‘it was a satirical piece, which is a globally accepted and common practice in journalism’. Still, they apologised if the article offended anyone.”
The lawyer noted that The Daily Star had removed the article from its online version but had not apologised unconditionally or paid damages. If these are not done within the stipulated time, a case will be filed, he said.
“The deadline is on Jun 12. Tk 1 billion should be paid by then and an unconditional apology should be given to the honourable Mayor Sheikh Fazle Noor Taposh. Otherwise, we will file civil and criminal cases. I have been instructed to do so.”