Bangladesh court bans circulation of Sheikh Hasina's ‘hate speeches'

The International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) of Bangladesh on Thursday ordered the authorities to ban the dissemination of all the “hate speeches” of ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina in the media and on social networking platforms.

The order follows Hasina's recent speech, her first public address after fleeing Bangladesh four months ago, in which she mounted a stinging attack on the country's interim leader Muhammad Yunus, accusing him of perpetrating "genocide" and failing to protect minorities including Hindus.

Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha (BSS) reported that a two-member tribunal led by Justice Md Golam Mortuza Mozumder passed the order and directed the authorities to remove all the “hate speeches” of Hasina from social media and take necessary steps to stop their dissemination in future in all types of mass media.

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Prosecutor Advocate Abdullah Al Noman told the news agency that the tribunal asked secretaries of the ICT Division, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, and Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) to execute the order.

The prosecution earlier filed the petition, pleading to remove and restrict all types of hate speech and incitement by the ousted prime minister, which may intimidate the witnesses or victims or hamper the investigation.

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Earlier, prosecutor Gazi MH Tamim briefed the media in this regard, saying not only in Bangladesh, making hate speech is a criminal offence in every law and every country around the world.

"Sheikh Hasina has made speeches, where she was heard saying she got the license to kill 227 people as the same number of cases were filed against her. She was even heard giving threats to the victims and witnesses of the cases against her, through these speeches," Tamim said.

In remarks delivered virtually to her supporters at an event in New York, Hasina, presently living in India, also claimed that there were plans to kill her and her sister Sheikh Rehana just like their father Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was assassinated in 1975.

Describing Yunus as "power-hungry", Hasina alleged that the places of worship in Bangladesh are under attack and the current dispensation has totally failed to deal with the situation.

Hasina was speaking to supporters of her Awami League party at the event organised on Sunday to mark "Bijoy Dibos" or Victory Day that falls on December 16.

Though Hasina made several statements in the last few months, it was her first public address after taking shelter, said an expert closely tracking developments in Bangladesh.

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