Threat to Peter Haas: Petition to file case against AL leader, 6 others

A petition has been filed to lodge a case against seven persons, including chairman of Chambol union parishad (UP) in Bashkhali of Chattogram Mujibul Haque Chowdhury, on allegation of threatening to kill US ambassador in Bangladesh Peter Haas.

Certain MA Hashem filed the petition with the Dhaka Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (CMM) Court on Monday.

CMM Court magistrate Farzana Shakila Shumu recorded the case deposition. However, the court hasn't passed any order regarding taking the case into cognisance. CMM Court’s bench assistant Rakib Chowdhury confirmed the development to Prothom Alo.

UP chairman Mujibul Haque is also the convener of Chambol union Awami League. The other accused in the case are – Chambol UP member Iftekhar Uddin, Md Sazzad, Ihsan, Nasir, Farhad and Saiful.

Case defendant MA Hashem claimed to be a human rights activist. On 6 November, Chambol UP chairman Mujibul Haque Chowdhury threatened to kill US ambassador Peter Haas in a public meeting. This incident has been reported in almost all the media outlets.

AL leader Mujibul was addressing the rally ‘in protest of blockade and violence’ of BNP-Jamaat in the regional accent of Chattogram. A video clip of his almost 19-minute speech went viral on Facebook. Apart from threatening to assault ambassador Peter Haas, he also criticised US president Joe Biden and Nobel laureate Dr Muhammad Yunus.

Mujibul Haque said in Chattogram accent, “Peter Haas is pressing for a fair election here. We are not afraid of you (Peter Haas). … You could be ‘God’ to BNP, but we, Awami League, don’t sell ourselves. I will beat so badly that you will realise what the Bengalis could be.”

Earlier, Mujibul Haque Chowdhury came into limelight during the UP election by saying his people will be at the polling centres to press the EVM buttons.

The US State Department has called this a ‘violent statement’. They have cited this statement as ‘deeply unhelpful’.

US State Department spokesperson Vedant Patel made these remarks during a briefing Wednesday.