15 BSS employees get jobs back................

Fifteen journalists and five non-journalist employees of state-run news agency Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha (BSS) got their jobs back after seven years, following the withdrawal of a government appeal against a High Court verdict.

The previously terminated employees will get arrears in salaries, allowances and other benefits, maintaining their seniority, they said in a statement Wednesday.

The prime minister on Feb 15 directed the information ministry to restore the employees, who were dismissed during the tenure of the past BNP-led government.

After seeking legal opinion, the information ministry directed the government-run news agency to take steps for withdrawal of the appeal.

Following the ministry directive, BSS moved to have the appeal withdrawn on April 20. A full bench of the Appellate Division, headed by Chief Justice M.M Ruhul Amin, withdrew it after a brief hearing.

The fifteen employees in a joint statement said 27 journalists and seven non-journalists were sacked by BSS in 2002 on "partisan considerations".

Of them, fifteen journalists and five non-journalists filed petitions with the High Court.

After a prolonged hearing, in May 2007, a bench of justice ABM Khairul Huq and justice Ziaul Karim declared their termination illegal and ordered restoration of their jobs within two months along with all arrears.

The fifteen are: Ajit Sarkar, Halim Azad, Samir Barua, Ashik–un-Nabi Chowdhury, Shahnaz Begum, Madhusudan Mandal, Azam Sarwar Chowdhury, Kanai Chakravarty, Afzal Hossain, Swapan Basu, Obaidul Ghani, Mahfuza Jesmin, Nure Jannat Seema, Bithi Zaman Chowdhury and Abu Naser.