ICT summons 2 lawyers over FB posts

The International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) has summoned two Supreme Court lawyers over Facebook posts allegedly disparaging the court after it sentenced Awami League General Secretary Obaidul Quader and six others to death for crimes against humanity during the July Uprising.

Md Hasanuzzaman Tushar and Mohammad Hasan Chowdhury have been ordered to appear before the tribunal in person at 10:30am on Sept 23 and explain their remarks.

A bench of Tribunal-2, headed by Justice Nozrul Islam Chowdhury, issued the order on Wednesday following an initial hearing on a prosecution petition.

Prosecutor Gazi MH Tamim said the two lawyers had posted comments about the verdict delivered a day earlier that the prosecution considered contemptuous of the tribunal.

According to the prosecution, Hasanuzzaman shared a news report about the verdict on Facebook, describing the tribunal as an “illegal kangaroo court” and the verdict as false, fabricated and baseless. He rejected the ruling and said “everything will be settled on the streets”.

Mohammad Hasan commented on the post, similarly describing the tribunal as a “kangaroo court” and rejecting what he called an “illegal” and “dictated” verdict.

Asked why the prosecution had sought action specifically against the two lawyers, Tamim said their profession was significant because they were expected to know the limits of what could be said about a court.
“They are lawyers and they know the law. They know what can and cannot be said about a court,” he said.

Tamim argued that if such comments by lawyers went unchallenged, members of the public could be left with the impression that they were legally permissible.
“The petition was brought before the court to avoid such confusion,” he said.�"bdnews24