Shyamoli Nasreen Chowdhury, the widow of martyred physician and freedom fighter Alim Chowdhury, filed a contempt petition with the Appellate Division on Wednesday seeking action against lawyer Mohammed Mohsen Rashid and journalist Kanak Sarwar for allegedly scandalising the judiciary of Bangladesh by holding a talk-show.
Kanak Sawar, now staying abroad, hosted the talk show on June 21 under the tagline 鈥楤angladesh War Crime Tribunals.鈥�
The talk-show was held a day after the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom allowed Chowdhury Mueen-Uddin, a Bangladeshi condemned war crimes convict living in London for decades, to revive his libel action against the British home secretary.
The Appellate Division鈥檚 vacation judge-in-chamber, Justice Md Shahinur Islam, scheduled the contempt petition for a full court hearing on July 4.
Appearing for Shyamoli Nasreen, lawyer Tapal Kanti Baul prayed for a contempt rule against Mohsen Rashid and Kanak Sarwar.聽
Mueen-Uddin鈥檚 libel claim relates to a 2019 British Home Office allegation of complicity in war crimes and crimes against humanity during Bangladesh鈥檚 war of independence.
Shyamoli said that Mohsen Rashid and Kanak Sarwar made scandalous and contemptuous remarks about the judicial system of Bangladesh.
Mohsen Rashid hinted at judicial murder through his remarks, she added.
Mueen-Uddin has been living in the United Kingdom since 1973. He became a UK citizen in 1984, according to the judgement.
Shortly after the independence of Bangladesh, Mueen, who had been a leader of Al-Badr force, fled to the UK and assumed a leadership role within the Muslim community in Britain.
In 2013, the International Crimes Tribunal of Bangladesh convicted Mueen-Uddin, in his absence, of abduction, torture, and murder of nine Dhaka University teachers, six journalists, and three doctors during the war. The tribunal also sentenced him to death.
He has not, however, been deported from the British capital, as Bangladesh has no extradition agreement with the UK.
