Dhaka – The International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) has directed authorities to remove all “hate speech” by ousted former prime minister Sheikh Hasina from social media and ensure its dissemination is halted across all forms of mass media in the future.
The two-member tribunal led by Justice Md Golam Mortuza Mozumder, issued the order on Thursday in response to a prosecution petition.
The court has instructed the authorities concerned to implement the order, prosecutor Abdullah Al Noman told reporters.
The prosecution’s plea emphasized the need to remove and restrict any hate speech or incitement attributed to Sheikh Hasina that could potentially intimidate witnesses, threaten victims, or obstruct a proper and effective investigation process.
“It’s important to clarify that this is not about limiting her political statements,” Noman said.
“Our focus is on hate speech as defined under the Rabat Principles,” he said.
He explained that under the Rabat Principles, several factors must be evaluated to determine whether a statement qualifies as a criminal offense, including its context, speaker, intent, content and form, extent, and likelihood of harm.
Earlier, Prosecutor Golam Monawar Tamim highlighted that hate speech constitutes a criminal offense under international law as well as in Bangladesh.
In her speeches, Hasina was also heard issuing threats to victims and witnesses in the cases involving her, Tamim said.
@newsnextbd.com/n Bangladesh politics
