Jahangirnagar University teacher gets 3-year prison term for wishing PM Hasina’s death

A Dhaka court has sentenced Jahangirnagar University teacher Muhammad Ruhul Amin Khandaker to three-year in prison for desiring death for Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in a Facebook post.

Senior Judicial Magistrate Nazmul Haque Shyamal handed down the penalty in absentia in the four-year-old case on Wednesday.

Khandaker, a teacher at the university's Institute of Information Technology, was appointed in 2008.

He has been staying in Australia since 2009 on a study leave. He is studying at Perth's Curtin University for almost three years now.

The court had earlier also sentenced him in absentia to a six-month prison term for contempt.

Wednesday’s order also includes a fine of Tk 10,000, failure to pay which would increase his prison term by another six months.

After the death of five people including celebrated filmmaker Tareque Masud and journalist Ashfaque Munier Mishuk in a road accident in Manikganj, Khandaker put up a post on his Facebook page on Aug 13, 2011 wishing the prime minister's death.

"The death of the five including Tareque and Mishuk Munier is a result of issuing driving licences without test. Everyone dies, why not Hasina?" he posted on his Facebook wall at 7:40pm on Aug 13.

Following a report published in a daily on the issue headlined 'Arrogance of pro-Jamaat JU teacher', the High Court in a suo moto rule on Aug 18 asked Khandaker to explain within two weeks why he should not be prosecuted for his 'derogatory comment'.

When he failed to respond, the court sentenced him in absentia to six months' jail for contempt of court and ordered police on Jan 8, 2012 to start a sedition case against him.

The bench of justices AHM Shamsuddin Choudhury and Jahangir Hossain on Jan 4 also sentenced the teacher to six months in prison for disregarding a court summons in connection with the derogatory comment about the prime minister on the social networking website.

The university investigated the allegations after the media report and said in a report submitted on Sep 10, 2011 that those were true.

A month later, Savar police filed a sedition case against him at the trial court. Savar Zone Additional Superintendent of Police Md Abdus Salam filed the chargesheet in court.

The court indicted him in absentia on Apr 23, 2104. A total of 12 persons, including nine teachers of the university, testified.