A 38-year-old man in Abhaynagar upazila of Jashore was released on Saturday night, hours after being detained and questioned for allegedly posting an “offensive” cartoon of Prime Minister Tarique Rahman on Facebook.

The man, identified as Md Robiul Islam, 38, introduced himself as a staff reporter of Dainik Phultala Protidin, a regional newspaper based in Khulna, according to police.

Mirajur Rahman, additional superintendent of police in Jashore, said Robiul had criticised the government but “later realised his mistake and apologised”.

“He was released at around 9:00pm today [Saturday] after being questioned,” the police official said.

Police detained Robiul from Lebugati village early today, said Abhaynagar Police Station Inspector (Investigation) Sheikh Lutfur Rahman.

Recently, he posted a cartoon depicting Prime Minister Tarique Rahman on his Facebook account. Following criticism from locals and political leaders, he later removed the post.

A visit to Robiul’s Facebook account showed that he later posted an apology for the post.

*Note: This report was updated at 11:59pm Saturday