A day after expelling Satkhira-4 MP Gazi Nazrul Islam from the party following the circulation of videos showing his "private moments" on social media, Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami on Thursday formally notified the Speaker of Parliament and the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) of its decision, urging them to take the necessary action.
In its letter, Jamaat said an internal organisational investigation into media reports concerning Gazi Nazrul Islam had found evidence of moral turpitude. As a result, he was expelled from the party under Article 62 of the Jamaat constitution.
The letter states that the decision was unanimously adopted at an emergency meeting of the party's Central Executive Council on 22 July, chaired by Opposition Leader and Jamaat Ameer Shafiqur Rahman.
The party requested the Election Commission to take the necessary steps regarding Gazi Nazrul's status.
Speaking to Prothom Alo by phone on Thursday afternoon, Ahsanul Mahboob Jubayer, secretary of Jamaat's publicity and media department, said the letters were sent to both the Election Commission and the Speaker at around 3:30pm.
Responding to questions, Jubayer said the party's Central Executive Council had decided at Wednesday's emergency meeting to notify both institutions. Accordingly, letters were sent today informing them of Gazi Nazrul Islam's expulsion from Jamaat. It is now up to them to take the necessary action.
The previous night, Najibur Rahman Momen, spokesperson for Jamaat's parliamentary party, had told Prothom Alo that the party would write to the Election Commission seeking the cancellation of Gazi Nazrul's parliamentary membership.
After Wednesday's executive council meeting, Jamaat had initially planned to notify the Speaker and the CEC immediately. However, following further discussions, the party postponed sending the letters.
According to Jamaat sources, there was insufficient time to submit the letter to the Election Commission on Wednesday because office hours had already ended. The party also reviewed previous precedents during BNP and Awami League governments, when the Speaker had been informed first in similar cases. On Thursday morning, Jamaat decided to send the letters to both the Speaker and the CEC simultaneously, which it did later that afternoon.
Gazi Nazrul, 74, was elected to parliament for the third time in the latest election. He was first elected from the Satkhira-4 constituency in 1991. In addition to serving as Jamaat's Satkhira district chief, he was also a member of the party's Central Majlish-e-Shura.
What Jamaat's investigation found
After the videos surfaced online, Jamaat formed an investigation committee led by Izzat Ullah, the party's Khulna regional director and a member of its Central Executive Council. Also serving on the committee was Muhaddis Abdul Khaleq, MP for Satkhira-2. Izzat Ullah himself represents Satkhira-1 in parliament.
On Tuesday, Gazi Nazrul presented his account before the committee in Satkhira. The committee also interviewed his first and second wives, along with other relevant individuals, to establish the full sequence of events. It later submitted its report to the party leadership, after which the Central Executive Council decided to expel him.
Asked what evidence of moral turpitude led to the expulsion, a member of Jamaat's Central Executive Council told Prothom Alo that the investigation found Gazi Nazrul had met the woman multiple times before their marriage, thereby violating the party's interpretation of purdah (gender segregation). The member added that the incident had seriously damaged the party's image, and that merely revoking his party membership status (rukniyyat) would not sufficiently address the harm, making expulsion necessary.
A senior Jamaat source said Gazi Nazrul's second wife is a relative. When he visited Dhaka, he would occasionally stay at the home of that relative.
On Monday night, multiple videos showing Gazi Nazrul in intimate moments with a young woman spread across social media. Initially, many Jamaat leaders and activists claimed the videos had been generated using artificial intelligence (AI).
However, the following day, Gazi Nazrul said in a Facebook post that the woman in the videos was his second wife, Mariam Begum. He claimed they had married on 17 June with the consent of his first wife.
Jamaat, Gazi Nazrul and his family maintain that the videos were recorded after the marriage, and that his first wife was present during the marriage ceremony.
However, some Jamaat leaders also believe that, in addition to moral turpitude, Gazi Nazrul became the victim of blackmail by an organised group.