The New Age newspaper editor Nurul Kabir has been allegation of being harassed at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport. Chief Adviser Dr. Muhammad Yunus has ordered an investigation into the incident.
This information was given in a press release from the Chief Adviser's press wing on Saturday (November 23).
The release said that recently, prominent editor (The New Age) Nurul Kabir has alleged harassment at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport. We sincerely regret this incident. The interim government will not tolerate harassment of any journalist in the country. Nurul Kabir was one of our most respected editors in his long career, a leading voice of reason and journalism. Chief Adviser Professor Yunus has ordered an investigation into the said undesirable incident.
Earlier today, Nurul Kabir said in a Facebook post, "The country's immigration authorities have been harassing me every time I go abroad for more than two decades."
In his post, Nurul Kabir cited examples of past harassment, saying that despite having the correct documents, he was interrogated about the reason for traveling abroad. Sometimes his passport was confiscated, and sometimes his passport pages were scanned and photographed, which is a violation of his privacy. It was even returned shortly before the flight took off.
He said that this harassment mainly happens when leaving the country, not when returning home.
He also wrote, "This time, when I was going to attend a media conference on November 18, I thought the days of harassment might be over. But I was wrong. This time the harassment has doubled—one hour during departure and another hour when I returned home on November 22."
He expressed his anger in his post, saying, "Being a patriot means being a suspect to intelligence agencies. As a result, I am forced to question the patriotism of the intelligence agencies concerned and the government that supervises them.