Published: Thursday, June 27, 2013

Buet teacher awarded 7yrs for issuing death threat to PM

Star Online Report

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina

A Dhaka court on Thursday sentenced a teacher of Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (Buet) to seven years’ imprisonment for issuing death threat to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on social media Facebook.

Convict Hafizur Rahman Rana is a lecturer of Mechanical Engineering Department of Buet.

Judge Md Zahirul Haque of the Court of Metropolitan Sessions Judge pronounced the verdict in absence of Rahman.

Rahman is on the run since January 13 this year.

Earlier, he secured bail from the High Court after his arrest in connection with the case filed over the issue.

AB Siddiqui, president of pro-Awami League organisation Bangladesh Jononetri Parishad, lodged a general diary (GD) with Shahbagh Police Station on April 23 last year after bangla daily Bhorer Kagoj published a report about the threat quoting the facebook.

According to report published on Bhorer Kagoj on April 19, Rahman threatened to kill the prime minister on the Facebook.

Quoting his write up, the newspaper said Rahman threatened Hasina saying, “Hey Hyena, you have destroyed the country, now you are trying to destroy our Buet… We the general students are the hunters. We will shoot in your head…and hang your head at the gate of Buet to avoid further aggression of hyenas.”

After investigating the GD, law enforcers submitted its report to the court on June 19, 2012.

Last Modified: 480 days ago

Wind

Some people are making rhetoric for democracy but in practice it is a authoritarian state .No free choice and movement .This is a ludicrous condition .Where are the civil society?
nazmul Haq

They (judges) are the obedient servants of regime. They do what the regime wants.
Zman7

Excellent Comment! Concur with it 90.90%. Yes, “nobody … gets away with threatening the head of the state [or government] that way”. But we must also want a socity where nobody could get away after making such a barbaric threats against ANY CITIZEN.
Saffat Hossain

The word “awarded” itself is derogatory
Zman7

No dear, there is nothing “wrong with this country and its people”. Only a certain category of people in this world — who think democracy and freedom of speech have no boundary or limit — is the problem. Read thoroughly the text of that barbaric death-threat (made by a ‘university teacher’, who is also using or involving students, marking them as “hunters” for criminal acts of murdering the head of the government on the Facebook) and think again whether people (would) value such gross death-threat as freedom of speech. You say it is only “facebook status” and wonder “what is wrong with this country”!! You underestimated Bangladesh. I don’t know which country is yours. But imagine that you are in the US, and if you make the same comment there against its head of the government, you would certainly put yourself in BIG TROUBLE. Please never attempt in making, applying or testing such barbaric “facebook status” in any country including yours.
Zman7

Sorry I’m so late. Thank you for valued response. I understand you didn’t get enough info (from the short version of article) when you posted the comment. I appreciate your response regarding lecturer’s lack of conscience, responsibility etc. I also concur with you that the sentence given is a bit more harsh (perhaps), but I’m 90% sure that the sentence will be reduced in an appeal court. Now allow me to disagree with your US comparison. Could you please tell me where or in which talk-show people made death-threat to the US head of the state. And yes dear, people of B.D can make cartoons of the Prime-minister or any other political figure. If you browse the Daily Star properly, you would certainly find many examples. Perhaps, you haven’t yet seen any TV talk-show of Bangladesh, people there freely criticize the PM or any minister in a very rough manner.