A Kishore cartoon.
A court in Dhaka, Bangladesh, on Monday adjourned the hearing for the framing of charges against the cartoonist and six others in a case filed against Kishore Ahmed Kabir Kishore and six others in a case filed under the DSA, the Digital Security Act.
The cartoonist was accused of posting anti-government messages and cartoons on Facebook and, according to some interpretations, spreading hoaxes about the coronavirus pandemic.
Judge Mohammad Ash Sams Joglul Hossain of the Dhaka Cyber Court adjourned the hearing to 27 February after hearing a time petition filed by the defence.
Cartoonist Ahmed Kabir Kishore's lawyer, Md Jydur Rahman, filed the time petition mentioning that they had tried to reach Kishore on the phone, but he had it switched off.
According to the Dhaka Tribunebut prosecutor Nazrul Islam Shamim opposed the time request, saying Kishore was now abroad and posting anti-government comments on Facebook
Therefore, the prosecutor was of the view that charges should be framed against all the accused. After the hearing, the court allowed the time petition for the last time.
The other six accused in the case are Didarul Islam Bhuiyan, activist of the 'Rastrachinta' platform; Swedish-Bangladeshi journalist Tasneem Khalil, editor of Netra News; Minhaj Mannan Emon, managing director of BLE securities; expatriate Shamiul Islam Khan alias Zulkarnain Saer Khan; Ashik Imran; and Wahidun Nabi.
Kishore case chronology
- may 6, 2020, Rab-3 deputy director Abu Bakar Siddique files the case against 11 persons, including Kishore, writer Mushtaq Ahmed, Didarul and Minhaj, at Ramna police station under DSA.
- Hours later, Kishore is arrested along with the rest of the defendants.
- Mushtaq's name is removed from the charge sheet because the high security writer in Kashimpur's died in jail the case was filed in the Kashimpur high security prison on February 25, 2021.
- October 2020, the cartoonist is awarded the bravery award 2020 Cartoonists Rights Network International (CRNI) annual award
- 16 December 2020, UN human rights experts call on Bangladesh to release cartoonist Ahmed Kabir Kishore is released immediately due to his deteriorating health condition in prison.
- 26 February 2021. Kishore sends a note to his brother in which he claims to have been subjected to severe physical abuse in prison. He also says he suffers from a serious leg injury and ear injuries that have led to infections due to lack of proper medical care.
- March 2021. Kishore gets the release on bail.
- 13 June 2021, the Office of Counter-Terrorism and Transnational Crime (CTTC) files the indictment.
- 12 September 2021, cyber court accepts charges against Kishore and six others in the case.
Humour in trouble, a collection of cases (III)
Cases of cartoonists who have been in trouble of some significance because of their cartoons or satirical illustrations. There are also some stories of other people who, without being cartoonists, have got into trouble for sharing them.
