The High Court awarded a teacher of Jahangirnagar University (JU) six months’ jail for disregarding a court summon in connection with a “derogatory comment” about the prime minister on social networking website Facebook.
Muhammad Ruhul Amin Khandaker, a lecturer of the Department of Information and Technology who is now in Australia, did not respond to a HC rule issued in August to explain his comment and later again a summon issued last month to appear before the court.
The HC has directed the foreign secretary to take steps immediately to bring Ruhul Amin back from Australia through diplomatic channel.
The HC bench of Justice AHM Shamsuddin Choudhury Manik and Justice Jahangir Hossain Selim passed the verdict Wednesday two days after the JU teacher failed to respond to an HC summon.
After the death of filmmaker Tareque Masud and journalist Ashfaque Munier Mishuk in a road accident in Manikganj, Ruhul Amin commented on his Facebook page on August 13 why Sheikh Hasina does not die when many people were dying in road accidents.
The HC bench, on August 18 last year, issued a rule asking Ruhul Amin to explain in two weeks why he should not be prosecuted for his “derogatory comment”.
On December 12, the HC asked Ruhul Amin to appear before it on January 2 to explain why he should not be punished for committing contempt of court by not responding to its earlier order.
In its verdict, the HC ordered the inspector general of police to arrest Ruhul Amin without any delay on his return to the country.
Deputy Attorney General ABM Altaf Hossain told The Daily Star that the HC fixed Thursday for passing its judgement on a rule which it issued against Amin for posting the comment.
http://www.thedailystar.net/newDesign/latest_news.php?nid=34879
shame on this beautiful country where there is no more freedom of speech...how democracy will flourish then... everything is falling apart... a miserable failure in showing self-respect... where is the light then at the end of the tunnel???
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