Dhaka, January 04: A Bangladeshi university teacher who allegedly “whished death” to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Facebook has been sentenced in absentia to six months in prison for not obeying court summons.
A high court bench Wednesday ordered the home and foreign affairs ministries to bring Ruhul Amin Khandker from Australia, where he is currently on a study leave, and arrest him upon his return, reports Xinhua.
Khandker, a teacher at Jahangirnagar University near Dhaka, had moved to Australia in 2009.
The bench ordered the university to take disciplinary action against him. However, it is yet to deliver a verdict on the death threat allegation.
On Aug 13 last year, Khandker reportedly posted on his Facebook page: “Everyone dies, why not Hasina?”
Five days later, the high court bench issued a notice asking Khandker to explain in two weeks why he should not be prosecuted for his “derogatory comment”.
When it did not receive any response, it issued another notice Dec 12 asking him to appear before the bench Jan 2 to explain why he should not be punished. Khandker did not respond.
–Source: facenfacts