Amar Desh

Amar Desh (Bengali: আমার দেশ), a newspaper in Bangladesh, was operational from 2004 until its closure.^[4][5] Published in Dhaka in Bengali, it reported on Bangladesh's news from local, regional, and international viewpoints. Known as a prominent opposition paper, Amar Desh supported the Bangladesh Nationalist Party in its editorial stance.^[6][7] The government of Bangladesh has shut down the newspaper and is to be opened again in 22 December 2024.^[8][9][10]

The Awami League government has closed down Amar Desh twice, coinciding with the arrests of editor Mahmudur Rahman. The first instance was on June 1, 2010, when the editor was arrested, and the newspaper was shut down for 10 days.^[6][11] The second closure occurred on April 11, 2013, following Rahman's arrest for publishing Skype conversations related to Bangladesh's war crimes trials. The suppression of the newspaper continues.^[12][13]

Amar Desh was officially launched on 23 September 2004 by Mosaddek Ali Falu, a former BNP politician, and Enayetur Rahman Bappi, the managing director of NTV. The magazine was sold in 2008 while Falu was in prison on corruption charges.

Before the magazine changed ownership, journalist Amanullah Kabir was the editor of Amar Desh. Ataus Samad was the acting editor of the magazine during the change of ownership. On 6 October 2008, Mahmudur Rahman and 20 other investors took over the ownership of the magazine and formed a new board of directors. Mahmudur Rahman became the chairperson of Amar Desh Publications Limited.

The publisher was Hashmat Ali. Rahman became the acting editor of the newspaper.

Before his arrest in 2010, Mahmudur Rahman said of Amar Desh: "We are the third largest national daily and the second largest in internet readership."

In 2013, Amar Desh's circulation increased significantly, reaching 200,000 copies daily. The selling price of a copy was 12 taka.^[4]