Published: 12:35 PM, 27 May 2026
Journalist Shawkat Mahmud released on bail
Former president of the National Press Club and Secretary General of Janata Party Bangladesh, Shawkat Mahmood, has been released on bail after five and a half months in prison.
His elder daughter, Mehet Mamun, said on Monday evening that he was released from the Dhaka Central Jail in Keraniganj and would return home.
Shawkat Mahmood, who transitioned from journalism to politics, was granted bail in the latest case filed under the Anti-Terrorism Act at Shahbagh Police Station. He had been in jail since his arrest on December 7, 2025, during the interim government period.
Speaking to reporters, Mehet Mamun said her father had secured bail from the High Court last week. After completing the legal formalities, he was brought home on Monday night.
Claiming that Shawkat Mahmood had long been suffering from illness, she said, “We are now waiting for his full recovery. We, the family members, are grateful that the government took his physical condition into consideration.”
Highlighting her father’s illness, Mehet Mamun had written a letter on April 1 requesting the intervention of Tarique Rahman for Shawkat Mahmood’s release.
Shawkat Mahmood was arrested on December 7 in the same case in which Bangladeshi-born U.S. citizen Enayet Karim Chowdhury was detained on allegations of involvement in a “conspiracy to overthrow” the interim government. Shawkat Mahmood was later also taken on remand.
After receiving bail from the High Court in that case, he was again shown arrested on March 16 in a separate Anti-Terrorism Act case filed at Shahbagh Police Station. The case had been filed against 16 individuals, including expelled Awami League central leader Abdul Latif Siddiqui, Dhaka University law department teacher Sheikh Hafizur Rahman, and journalist Manjurul Alam Panna.
According to the allegations in the case, an organization called “Moncho 71” emerged on August 5 last year with the aim of resisting alleged conspiracies to erase and distort the history of Bangladesh’s Liberation War. The organization’s stated goal was to prepare for sacrifice alongside the people of Bangladesh to protect the nation’s achievements.
As part of those preparations, a roundtable meeting was organized on August 28 at 10 a.m. The event began at 11 a.m. at the Dhaka Reporters Unity (DRU) in Segunbagicha. According to the complaint, a group of people entered the venue chanting slogans and creating chaos. At one stage, they shut the doors of the venue and allegedly harassed several participants.
Later, Abdul Latif Siddiqui, Professor Karzon, and journalist Panna—who had attended the event as guests—were arrested in the case.
In this case, Shawkat Mahmood was described as an accused “identified during investigation” and was officially shown arrested on March 16.
