A special court in Dhaka has sentenced former officer-in-charge of Sonagazi police station Moazzem Hossain to seven years in jail in a case filed for releasing a video on the social media in which Feni madrasa student Nusrat Jahan Rafi was giving statement to him.
Judge Al Shams Jaglul Hossain of Bangladesh Cyber Tribunal awarded the punishment to the cop under the Digital Security Act on Thursday (Nov 28).
The court also fined him Tk 1.5 million any failure in payment of which will extend the prison term by another six months.
The judge pronounced the verdict around 2:40pm in presence of Moazzem, who was taken to the court from prison around 10am and produced before the court at 2:17pm.
Moazzem sent back to prison after the verdict was delivered.
Barrister Syed Sayedul Haque Suman, who filed the case on Apr 15, expressed satisfaction with the judgment.
Shahbagh police arrested Moazzem in the High Court area on Nov 14. The Cyber Tribunal sent him to jail the next day after he was produced before the court.
Moazzem had recorded Nusrat’s statement on his mobile phone in which she brought sexual harassment charges against her madrasa principal Siraj-ud-Daula in March.
He released the video on the social media on April 11, a day after Nusrat died at Dhaka Medical College Hospital where she was undergoing treatment after being burned by people hired by Siraj-ud-Daula.
Police Bureau of Investigation (PBI) pressed charges against Moazzem on May 27.