Law adviser Asif Nazrul accuses Daily Star Newspaper of bias, but fails to give details

Law Adviser Asif Nazrul has accused prominent newspapers The Daily Star and Prothom Alo of bias but failed to provide specific evidence when pressed for details.

Speaking at a seminar organized by the Centre for Governance Studies in the capital, Nazrul claimed that both newspapers maintain a code of conduct unlike most others in the country. While acknowledging this as a form of self-regulation, he criticized The Daily Star for allegedly misrepresenting facts in a past incident involving a Dhaka University lecturer.

Referring to an event he said occurred 13 or 14 years ago though later admitted it might have been 20 — Nazrul accused The Daily Star of elevating a lecturer to the status of a “professor” and turning him into a national figure after the academic made offensive remarks about former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia. He claimed the paper gave the lecturer undue coverage and failed to report on his eventual expulsion from the Dhaka University Club and the Teachers‍‍` Association.

“The Daily Star never published those facts,” he alleged. “This man, unfortunately, took his own life later. Yet, he was portrayed as a hero at the time.”

Nazrul directed his remarks at a journalist present at the event, urging them to raise the issue with the editor of The Daily Star and offering to share what he claimed was evidence. However, when contacted by the journalist after the seminar, he failed to recall specific details, only suggesting that the lecturer’s first name might have been “Shafique.”

He also acknowledged that bringing up the case publicly may have been inappropriate, saying, “Perhaps, this case should not have been referred to publicly.”

Despite The Daily Star’s subsequent request for clarification and documentation, Nazrul has not yet responded.