The Bangla Academy has suspended the 2025 literary award of poet Mohon Raihan, citing questions raised about his writings and poems. The announcement came during the inauguration of the Amar Ekushey Book Fair 2026 at the Bangla Academy premises on Thursday, where Prime Minister Tarek Rahman presented awards to eight other recipients. The Academy had earlier announced nine winners, including Raihan, in a February 23 notice.

According to Bangla Academy Director General Professor Mohammad Azam, the decision to withhold Raihan’s award was made to allow further review of the concerns raised about his work. The Academy stated that a final decision will be made after examination. The other awardees include Nasima Anis, Syed Azizul Haque, Hasan Hafiz, Ali Ahmad, Mustafa Majid, Israil Khan, Farseem Mannan Mohammadi, and Moeedul Hasan.

In a social media post, Mohon Raihan expressed surprise at the suspension, saying he had not sought the award and that his name had been announced before the ceremony. He claimed a group influenced the decision due to his poem “Taher’s Dream,” written 41 years ago.