Court Correspondent :
Lawyer Imtiaz Mahmood yesterday sent to jail by a Dhaka court hours after police arrested him in a case filed Under Section 57 of the ICT Act about two years ago over his Facebook status.
Police detained him from his Banani residence on Thursday morning in compliance with an arrest warrant issued by a
Khagrachhari court on January 21. Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Satya Brata Sikder passed the order after Sujan Saha, Sub-Inspector of Banani Police Station, produced the arrested Supreme Court lawyer in the court.
In July 2017, one Shafiqul Islam lodged the case against Imtiaz Mahmood with Khagrachhari Sadar Police Station on charges of hurting his sentiments and inciting communal violence in the Chattogram Hill Tracts area.
However, during the hearing on a bail petition yesterday, Imtiaz’s lawyer Asaduzzaman Rachi told the court that his client was granted bail by the High Court till the submission of the probe report in the case.
Perhaps, the High Court order did not reach the Khagrachhari court and that is why the court issued the arrest warrant and police arrested him. Therefore, the accused lawyer should be granted bail, the lawyer added.
Earlier, police pressed charges against him and the district court issued an arrest warrant against him as he did not appear before it.
In the charge sheet, police mentioned that Imtiaz Mahmood used his Facebook account to misguide people through spreading false information and rumour with ill motive to tarnish the country’s image, hurt religious sentiments of people and deteriorate law and order situation of the country.
Citing the First Information Report, police earlier told newsmen that the complainant had accused Imtiaz of making several posts on Facebook from July 1-10, 2017 regarding some fake incidents in the CHT region.
The complainant alleged that Imtiaz had tried to instigate communal violence in the CHT by making those posts, police said. It may be remembered that following widespread criticism over the misuse of Section 57 of the Information and Communication Technology Act, the government repealed the Section last year.
However, it allegedly incorporated the content of the Section in the Digital Security Act, 2018. Besides, the government had said trials of the cases already filed Under Section 57 would continue.
Lawyer Imtiaz Mahmood yesterday sent to jail by a Dhaka court hours after police arrested him in a case filed Under Section 57 of the ICT Act about two years ago over his Facebook status.
Police detained him from his Banani residence on Thursday morning in compliance with an arrest warrant issued by a
Khagrachhari court on January 21. Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Satya Brata Sikder passed the order after Sujan Saha, Sub-Inspector of Banani Police Station, produced the arrested Supreme Court lawyer in the court.
In July 2017, one Shafiqul Islam lodged the case against Imtiaz Mahmood with Khagrachhari Sadar Police Station on charges of hurting his sentiments and inciting communal violence in the Chattogram Hill Tracts area.
However, during the hearing on a bail petition yesterday, Imtiaz’s lawyer Asaduzzaman Rachi told the court that his client was granted bail by the High Court till the submission of the probe report in the case.
Perhaps, the High Court order did not reach the Khagrachhari court and that is why the court issued the arrest warrant and police arrested him. Therefore, the accused lawyer should be granted bail, the lawyer added.
Earlier, police pressed charges against him and the district court issued an arrest warrant against him as he did not appear before it.
In the charge sheet, police mentioned that Imtiaz Mahmood used his Facebook account to misguide people through spreading false information and rumour with ill motive to tarnish the country’s image, hurt religious sentiments of people and deteriorate law and order situation of the country.
Citing the First Information Report, police earlier told newsmen that the complainant had accused Imtiaz of making several posts on Facebook from July 1-10, 2017 regarding some fake incidents in the CHT region.
The complainant alleged that Imtiaz had tried to instigate communal violence in the CHT by making those posts, police said. It may be remembered that following widespread criticism over the misuse of Section 57 of the Information and Communication Technology Act, the government repealed the Section last year.
However, it allegedly incorporated the content of the Section in the Digital Security Act, 2018. Besides, the government had said trials of the cases already filed Under Section 57 would continue.
