The Appellate Division of the Supreme Court on Thursday summoned lawyer Mohammed Mohsen Rashid and journalist Kanak Sarwar for allegedly scandalising, demeaning and maligning the judiciary of Bangladesh in a talk-show.
Kanak Sawar, now staying abroad, hosted the online talk-show on June 21, under the title 鈥楤angladesh War Crime Tribunals.鈥�
The talk-show was hosted the day after 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 suit against the British Home Secretary for publishing a statement in the home office website about the war verdict against Mueen.
The court also issued a ruling asking Mohsen and Kanak to explain why a contempt of court ruling would not be issued against them and why they wouldn鈥檛 be punished for the contempt over the talk-show remarks.
The court suspended Mohsen鈥檚 practice in the Supreme Court until it passes further orders on July 21.
The court passed the order after hearing a contempt petition filed by Shyamoli Nasreen Choudhury, the widow of martyred physician and freedom fighter Alim Chowdhury, attaching typed text of the talk-show which was found posting in the youtube channel of Kanak Sarwar.
As Shyamoli鈥檚 lawyer Tapas Kanti Baul argued that Mohsen made defamatory remarks in the talk show hosted by Sarwar, the court watched recorded video of the remarks in question during the hearing.
Mohsen, during the show, said that International Crimes Tribunals judges were not 鈥榠mpartial鈥� and the verdicts were 鈥榠nfluential and compromised鈥�.
He also said that the verdict was dictated by the government.
The war crime verdicts would be challenged once upon a time, he added.聽聽
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.
Mueen has not, however, been deported from the British capital, as Bangladesh has no extradition agreement with the UK.