Female Chhatra Dal activist sues 7 Facebook pages over alleged religious hatred, harassment
After recording the plaintiff’s statement, the court ordered CID to investigate the allegations and submit a report
A leader of Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal has filed a case with a Dhaka court against seven Facebook pages on charges of spreading religious communal hatred, defamatory content and online harassment targeting political figures and private individuals.
The case was filed today (26 January) with the Dhaka Cyber Tribunal, presided over by Judge Mohammad Saidur Rahman Gazi. According to court sources, the complainant is Jannatul Ferdous Jui, a member of the Begum Rokeya Hall unit of Chhatra Dal at Dhaka University.
After recording the plaintiff's statement, the court ordered the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of the police to investigate the allegations and submit a report. The information was confirmed by the plaintiff's lawyer, Syed Nazrul Islam, general secretary of the Dhaka Bar Association.
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The pages named in the case are Fight Against Hindutva (Backup), Fight Against Hindutva – Official, FAH Exclusive, Osman Chy Chand, SB Billal Hasanat Anu, Riasat Farhan Hossain and Harul Haque.
According to the complaint, the accused page administrators acted in collusion and, over the past several days, posted defamatory, vulgar, false and misleading content on Facebook targeting the plaintiff and her associate, Tawhida Sultana, in an effort to force them to withdraw from online activism.
The plaintiff alleged that the accused not only published obscene and false remarks but also circulated religiously provocative and hate-inciting statements. The complaint further stated that on 23 December, defamatory, indecent and religiously hateful comments were made involving both the plaintiff and a witness.
It was also alleged that the accused belonged to an organised group and repeatedly opened multiple bot and fake accounts under different names to spread offensive and defamatory remarks against the plaintiff and witnesses.
In addition, the complaint accused them of issuing obscene threats through Facebook Messenger and attempting political blackmail. The CID has been directed to examine the allegations and submit its findings to the tribunal following the investigation.
