Nusrat video: Tribunal jails ex-Sonagazi OC Moazzem for eight years

A tribunal dealing with cybercrimes has jailed Moazzem Hossain, former OC of Sonagazi Police Station in Feni, for a total of eight years for unlawfully releasing a video of a statement from madrasa student Nusrat Jahan Rafi on social media before her death in an arson attack.

Bangladesh Cyber Tribunal Judge Mohammad As-Shams Jaglul Hossain passed the verdict on Thursday after hearing the closing arguments from all sides in the digital security case.

Moazzem has been sentenced to five years in jail for recording Nusrat’s statement unlawfully (on his mobile phone), a crime under Section 26 of the digital security law. His three-year jail term stemmed from the breach of Section 29 of the same law that involves the crime of releasing the recorded statement on social media.

Moazzem Hossain, former OC of Sonagazi Police Station in Feni, arriving at the Cyber Tribunal in Dhaka on Thursday ahead of the verdict in a digital security case. The tribunal sentenced him to eight years in jail for unlawfully releasing a video of a statement from madrasa student Nusrat Jahan Rafi on social media before her death in an arson attack.

Two prison terms will be executed one after another, which means he will have to remain behind bars for eight years. However, his prison time will be counted from June 16 when he first landed in jail after his arrest.

The tribunal also fined him Tk 1 million. The money will be awarded to Nusrat's as compensation and a failure to pay the fund will extend Moazzem's prison time by another six months.

Moazzem was the chief of the Sonagazi Police Station when Nusrat pressed charges of sexual harassment against her madrasa principal Siraj-ud-Daula in March. He had recorded her statement on his mobile phone.

The video was later posted on social media amid widespread protests over a deadly arson attack on Nusrat in April by the followers of Siraj, who had already landed in jail on the sexual abuse charges.

Lawyer Syed Sayedul Haque Suman subsequently started the case against Moazzem in Dhaka under the Digital Security Act on Apr 15, after Nusrat died in hospital.

The cyber tribunal issued an arrest warrant for Moazzem on May 27 after the Police Bureau of Investigation submitted a report on evidence of the allegations brought against Moazzem.

Following Nusrat’s death, Moazzem was initially transferred to the Rangpur range of police and later suspended from the agency for negligence in handling the Nusrat case.

The Feni police and Rangpur police were at loggerheads over the arrest of Moazzem. The media then reported Moazzem on the run. Police arrested him when he left the High Court after filing a bail appeal on June 16.