JU teacher jailed for Facebook comment on PM

A court here on Wednesday sentenced a lecturer of Jahangirnagar University (JU) to three years’ imprisonment for making indecent comments against Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on social networking site Facebook in 2011.

The convict was identified as Ruhul Amin Khandaker, a lecturer of the Institute of Information Technology Department of the university.

Dhaka Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate Nazmul Haque Shyamol passed the order. The court also fined him Tk 10,000, in default, to suffer three months more rigorous imprisonment.

According to the prosecution, the JU teacher had made a post on his Facebook on August 13, 2011 saying, “Drivers are getting driving licenses without any tests. All die, why not Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina?”

On October 2, 2011, Manwar Hossain, assistant superintendent of Dhaka Circle, filed a case against the JU lecturer with Dhaka Chief Judicial Magistrate Court under section 124 (a) of the Penal Code.