Jamaat expels Satkhira-4 MP Nazrul over moral turpitude

Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami has expelled Satkhira-4 MP Gazi Nazrul Islam from the party after an organisational investigation found evidence supporting allegations of moral misconduct against him.

The decision was taken at an emergency meeting of the party's Central Executive Council held at 4pm today (22 July) at the official residence of the leader of the opposition, Shafiqur Rahman, on Minto Road in Dhaka.

According to a party statement, members of the Central Executive Council were present at the meeting.

The statement said the party decided to expel Gazi Nazrul Islam under Article 62 of the Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami constitution after the investigation established his moral turpitude.

The party also decided to immediately inform the Bangladesh Election Commission of his expulsion from the organisation.

The controversy surrounding Gazi Nazrul Islam began on 20 July when CCTV footage showing him in an intimate moment with a woman went viral on social media.

Initially, the Satkhira district unit of Jamaat claimed the footage had been fabricated using artificial intelligence (AI) or deepfake technology as part of a conspiracy. 

However, several fact-checking organisations later concluded that the footage was authentic and had not been generated using AI.

In a statement issued yesterday (21 July), Jamaat's Central Publicity and Media Department Secretary Ahsanul Mahboob Zubair said the party was collecting information and verifying facts regarding the incident and that any organisational action would be taken in accordance with its rules after establishing the facts.

He said statements from the lawmaker, his first and second wives, and the father of his second wife had already been made public, adding that the party was conducting further inquiries into the matter.

Earlier, Gazi Nazrul Islam yesterday claimed in a social media statement that the woman seen in the footage is his second wife, Mst Mariam Begum. He said they were married on 17 June this year with the consent of his first wife.

The lawmaker further alleged that while he and his family were staying in Dhaka's Moghbazar area, his driver and a relative of his second wife brought outsiders to hold them hostage and demand money. 

According to him, after failing to extort money and because of previous enmity, the group illegally obtained the CCTV footage and circulated it online.

Videos featuring statements from the MP's first wife, his claimed second wife and his father-in-law were later shared on social media, in which they described the matter as a family issue and alleged that it was part of a conspiracy.

Jamaat, however, said its organisational investigation had established Gazi Nazrul Islam's moral misconduct and decided to expel him from the party.