One of the country's most admired and respected journalists, New Age editor Nurul Kabir, has said he was harassed at the Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport recently - both while departing for and returning from an international media conference.
Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus ordered an investigation into the incident as soon as it was brought to his attention, Deputy Press Secretary Abul Kalam Azad said Saturday.
"We sincerely regret the incident. The interim government will not tolerate harassment of any journalists in the country," Azad added, before describing Nurul Kabir as a "top champion of journalistic integrity during his long career."
On Saturday, Kabir took to his verified Facebook page to report that contrary to his own expectations, the harassment he was used to facing at the country's main international airport for the last 20 years, had surprisingly doubled during a recent trip abroad to attend a news and media conference.
"On November 18, as I was going abroad for a media conference, I expected that my days of harassment (sic) at the Dhaka airport were over, at least for sometime," he wrote, glumly adding: "I was wrong."
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He then alludes to the latest incident, or incidents: "It has been rather doubled this time. One hour while departing and one hour while returning home on November 22."
Previously, in the twenty years referenced earlier, he said he had never faced any trouble "while returning home"- distinguishing the latest incident from what he experienced in the past.
Kabir helmed New Age as one of the very few voices that strongly and consistently spoke truth to power during the highly repressive Awami League regime that ruled the country from 2009-2024. Outspoken almost to a fault, he also became a highly popular television commentator for his forthright views and acerbic tongue, before being allegedly 'blacklisted' by AL that saw a largely pliant industry whittle down their invitations for him to appear on their channel.