Teen languishing in prison for 5 months before being charged

Safayet Ullah alias Sagor (19), a small trader at Chattogram's Sandweep area has been suffering in jail for five and a half months without trial in a case filed under the Digital Security Act for making a derogatory comment about the prime minister on a Facebook post, although the post was circulated from the Facebook ID of Safayet Hossain Ayan.

Faisal Uddin, president of Bangladesh Chhatra League's Sandweep Pourasava Unit, filed the case with Sandweep Police Station on October 8 last year over the Facebook post that was made on October 6. Police arrested Safayet Ullah Sagor the same day in connection with the case.

The investigation officer (IO) of the case is yet to submit charge sheet of the case to the trial court, although an IO gets maximum 105 days for completing investigation and submitting charges in such a case filed under the Digital Security Act 2018.

Citing these grounds, Safayet Ullah Sagor, now in Chattogram jail, filed a petition with the High Court on March 9, seeking bail in the case. 

Police, however, refuted his claim, saying that the Facebook ID, through which the abusive comment was posted about Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, was delivered from the Facebook account of Safayet Ullah Sagor in the name of Safayet Hossain Ayan. 

After hearing arguments on this issue, the HC bench of Justice Md Rezaul Haque and Justice Md Atoar Rahman yesterday set March 29 for delivering order on the bail petition.

The HC bench asked Deputy Attorney General Saifuddin Khaled to submit the forensic report on the Facebook status, in which the derogatory comment was made, on the date.

During hearing yesterday, Sagor's lawyer Shishir Manir told the HC that the trial court cannot take cognizance of the charges of a case under Section 198 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) 1898 if the aggrieved person, about whom the derogatory comment is made, does not file the case.

Faisal Uddin, who filed the case against Sagor, is not aggrieved person as no derogatory comment was made about him, the lawyer said.

Lawyer Shishir Manir said another HC bench on February 24 last year issued a rule questioning the sections 25 and 31 of the Digital Security Act that can hamper the freedom of expression and thought. The rule is still pending, he argued.

On the other hand, Deputy Attorney General Saifuddin Khaled told the HC bench that police have seized a cell phone from Safayet Ullah Sagor and it has been found after examining the Facebook ID that he Sagor made the comment on the Facebook post.    

Sagor is the accused who made the Facebook post in the name of Safayet Hossain Ayan, he said citing a police report.  

DAG Saifuddin Khaled told The Daily Star that he received the forensic report from the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of police about the Facebook post, and he will submit it to the HC on March 29.

Sagor's lawyer told The Daily Star that he received a copy of forensic report from the DAG. The CID could not make any conclusion about the Facebook post, as the IO sent its screenshot to CID for examining, he said.

Shashir Manir said his client Sagor had sought bail from the sessions judge's court of Chattogram on December 6 last year in the same case. But, the court rejected his bail petition on the grounds that there was a specific allegation against him (Safayet), he was arrested recently and the investigation was running against him in connection with the case, the lawyer added.

Meanwhile yesterday, Officer in charge (OC) of Sandweep police station Md Bashir Ahmed and investigation officer of the case Manwar Hossain appeared before the HC bench in line with its March 22 summons order and apologised to the court for not appearing before the court on March 22 in response to its verbal order.  

During hearing the same bail petition, the HC bench on March 15 verbally asked OC Bashir and IO Manwar through DAG Saifuddin before it on March 22 to place their statements about the case and arrest of Sagor.

They did not appear before the court on March 22 as they did not get any written order. Then, the HC on March 22 issued a summons order in writing and directed them to appear before the court yesterday (March 25).

The HC yesterday pardoned them and exonerated them from personal appearance before the court.