Dhaka: The High Court has granted Jamaat-e-Islami MP Mufti Amir Hamza eight weeks’ anticipatory bail in a defamation case filed in Sirajganj. This decision was made by the HC bench comprising Justice Zahid Sarwar Kajal and Justice Sheikh Abu Taher, following a petition hearing as confirmed by his lawyer Advocate Mohammad Shishir Manir.
According to United News of Bangladesh, the arrest warrant against Amir Hamza will remain ineffective due to this bail. The bail petition was submitted by Hamza to the High Court as a response to the legal proceedings initiated against him.
The defamation case was filed on April 2 by Humayun Kabir, the Additional Public Prosecutor of the Sirajganj District Sessions and Judge Court. Kabir, who is also the General Secretary of the District Bar Association, accused Hamza of making defamatory remarks about Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Iqbal Hassan Mahmood Tuku.
On the same day, a summons was issued for Amir Hamza to appear in court on April 21. However, his failure to comply resulted in the issuance of an arrest warrant. The Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate Court of Sirajganj issued another arrest warrant on April 21 in response to his absence.
The controversy stems from remarks Hamza allegedly made on March 26, where he reportedly referred to Energy Minister Iqbal Hassan Mahmood Tuku as an atheist and Islamophobic during a discussion at the Hatsh Haripur Boro Jame Mosque in Kushtia Sadar upazila.