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Matiur Rahman | |
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 Rahman in 2018 | |
| Born | (1946-04-15)15 April 1946 (age 79) Calcutta,Bengal Presidency, British India |
| Alma mater | Dhaka College University of Dhaka |
| Occupation(s) | Journalist, editor |
| Years active | 1970–present |
| Movement | Marxism |
| Spouse | Maleka Begum |
| Awards | Ramon Magsaysay Award |
Matiur Rahman (Bengali:মতিউর রহমান; born 15 April 1946)[1] is the editor ofProthom Alo, one of the largest circulatedBengali language daily in Bangladesh. He is the recipient of the 2005Ramon Magsaysay Award in the journalism, literature and creative communication arts category.[2][3][4]
Rahman was born 2 January 1946 in Calcutta to Mohammed Fazlur Rahman, a lawyer, and Lutfunessa Begum.[2] For his secondary education, he attended Nawabpur Government High School and thenDhaka College. For his higher education, he attended theUniversity of Dhaka and earned his master's degree in statistics in 1967. While a student, he became aMarxist and was a student leader in East Pakistan Student Union. Later, he was secretly a member ofCommunist Party of Bangladesh while it was still outlawed.[citation needed]
Rahman entered journalism in 1970 when he became the editor ofEkota, a socialist weekly. For five years during the 1970s, he also published the Bangladesh edition of the journalWorld Marxist Review. He left that position after 21 years and after the fall of the East Bloc.[4] After he leftEkota, he worked as a journalist for newspaperAjker Kagoj. In February 1992, he partnered with others to foundBhorer Kagoj, which he edited for the next six years. AfterSaber Hossain Chowdhury joined the cabinet of the Awami League government, Rahman felt pressured to shape the newspaper's stance in accordance with the ruling party and this led to his resignation.[2] In 1998, he foundedProthom Alo, a daily newspaper.[4]
On 12 February 2013, Rahman was wounded from broken glass while in his car when some men were rioting and vandalising cars.[5][6]
He was elected president of theNewspaper Owners' Association of Bangladesh in June 2014.[7] In March 2023, Matiur Rahman was sued under the controversialDigital Security Act. Reporter Samsuzzaman Shams, an 'assistant cameraman' and unnamed others were also made accused in the case.[8]
In December 2024, Simin Rahman ofTranscom Group was accused by his younger sister of embezzling her deceased father's shares through non-judicial stamp fraud.[9][10][11] On 18 May 2025, Elias Hossain's YouTube investigative report program called Fifteen Minutes was shown, stating that Simin Rahman was unethically assisted by Prothom Alo editor Matiur Rahman and Daily Star'sMahfuz Anam in this matter along with publishing false news, andAsif Nazrul dismissed the case without investigation due to his good relations with them.[12][13]Zulkarnain Saer Khan also criticised Matiur Rahman andMahfuz Anam for involving in this matter.[14] Matiur Rahman,Anisul Haque andMahfuz Anam also helped Simin giving advice to donate on making bollywood filmFaraaz with a false narrative to hide the information about his son Faraz being a militant in 2016 Dhaka Holey Artisan attack, instead showing him as a saviour hero.[15][16]
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