Online Desk  : Mahmudur Rahman, the editor of Amar Desh, returned to the country on Friday morning after spending over five and a half years in exile. He arrived at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport from Turkey on a Qatar Airways flight at 9:20am. Leaders from the Bangladesh Federal Union of Journalists, Dhaka Union of Journalists, and the Bangladesh Sammilita Peshajibi Parishad welcomed him at the airport.

Around a thousand people, including students, gathered outside the airport to receive Mahmudur Rahman. Coming out of the airport, Mahmudur Rahman greeted his supporters while standing in a convertible car, waving his hand. Addressing the crowd, Mahmudur Rahman expressed, “Once, the youth of Bangladesh used to consider Che Guevara as a symbol of revolution; now they see Abu Sayeed as their ideal.”

The Amar Desh editor said he fought against the fascist Awami League government in his own way for the past 16 years. “Political parties like BNP and Jamaat have struggled in their ways, while I have fought along with my ‘Amar Desh’ family. My fight has been an intellectual and cultural battle.” Jahid Chowdhury, the news editor of Amar Desh, said Mahmudur Rahman has returned to the country as his mother is very ill.

Mahmudur Rahman faced the wrath of the Awami League government for publishing various news items. Over 124 cases were filed against him, and in one case, both he and his wife were sentenced to seven years in prison. He also endured police torture under false charges. He was arrested in June 2010 and again in April 2013, during which the government shut down Amar Desh. After his arrest, he was reportedly subjected to torture during remand.