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DHAKA: A legal notice has been sent to Islamic speaker Dr Syed Muhammad Enayetullah Abbasi over allegations of making derogatory remarks about journalists and threatening to have them beaten.
Supreme Court lawyer Khademul Islam sent the notice on Sunday (October 25) on behalf of Azharul Islam Sujon, an executive committee member of the Court Reporters Unity, an organisation of journalists covering lower courts.
The notice asked Abbasi to withdraw his remarks and offer an unconditional apology within seven days of receiving it. Otherwise, legal action will be taken under the prevailing laws over allegations of defamation, threats of assault and incitement through derogatory remarks about journalists and the journalism profession, the notice said.
According to the notice, Abbasi made the remarks on October 19 at an annual waz and prayer gathering at Nishchintapur Hafizia Madrasa in Matlab upazila of Chandpur district.
At one point during his speech, he said, “The journalists in Bangladesh are the worst. They should be beaten like dogs.”
He further said, “A young man serving as a state minister tried to dismantle the chain of the drug syndicate with his own force. The journalists did not report the positive side of the story. Instead, they reported that he ran around with a pistol. These journalists are dangerous. They practise yellow journalism. They are funded by foreign intelligence agencies. They do not want Bangladesh to prosper.”
The notice stated that the remarks amounted to threats of physical assault against journalists, either directly or through his followers, creating an atmosphere of fear for the journalism profession.
It further stated that his comments were deeply contemptuous of the journalism profession and professional journalists, defamatory, and posed a threat to their safety.
