Dhaka: The International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) today ordered authorities concerned to remove all the 'hate speeches' of ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina from social media and take necessary steps to stop dissemination of such speeches in future in all types of mass media. The two-member tribunal led by Justice Md Golam Mortuza Mozumder passed the order, allowing a plea of the prosecution. According to Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha, the tribunal asked secretaries of the ICT Division and Ministry of Information and Broadcasting and Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) to execute the order. Prosecutor Advocate Abdullah Al Noman highlighted the prosecution's petition, which aimed to remove and restrict all types of hate speech and incitement by the ousted prime minister, as these may intimidate witnesses or victims or hamper the process of proper and effective investigation. Advocate Noman clarified that the restriction is not on her political statements but specifically on hate speeches a s defined by the Rabat Principles. He elaborated that the Rabat Principles require consideration of context, speaker, intent, content and form, extent of the speech act, and likelihood to determine whether any expression or statement can be deemed a criminal offense. Prosecutor Gazi MH Tamim briefed newsmen, emphasizing that making hate speech is a criminal offense not only in Bangladesh but also in every country around the world. He noted that Sheikh Hasina has made speeches claiming a figurative 'license to kill' correlating to the number of cases against her, and such declarations included threats to victims and witnesses involved in those cases.
