A Bangladeshi court Sunday ordered a probe whether a sedition charge could be initiated against former Prime minister and opposition leader Khaleda Zia over her alleged “slanderous comments” concernin
A Bangladeshi court Sunday ordered a probe whether a sedition charge could be initiated against former Prime minister and opposition leader Khaleda Zia over her alleged “slanderous comments” concerning martyrs of the 1971 liberation war against Pakistan.
“The metropolitan magistrate court asked police to investigate into the allegation under Section 123 (A) of the Penal Code after obtaining required government clearance,” a court official said.
He said the order came after a brief hearing on the charges against the 70-year-old brought by a lawyer for her “slanderous comments” about the martyrs of the liberation war in which three million people were killed.
The Section 123 (A) suggests one to be “punished with rigorous imprisonment which may extend to ten years and shall also be liable to fine” for “condemnation of the creation of the State (Bangladesh) and advocacy of abolition of its sovereignty”.
Legal experts said the government clearance was a pre-requisite for investigating. Speaking at a discussion on December 21, Ms Zia “expressed doubts” about the casualty figures of 1971 and commented that Bangladesh’s founder Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman actually wanted to be undivided Pakistan’s Prime Minister rather than lead the country to independence.
