Arrest warrant against MP Amir Hamza in Sirajganj

A Sirajganj court has issued an arrest warrant against Amir Hamza, a member of parliament from Kushtia-3 and a leader of Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami, in a defamation case filed over alleged derogatory remarks about Iqbal Hasan Mahmud Tuku, the minister for Power, Energy and Mineral Resources.

The order was issued today, Tuesday, by the judge of the Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate’s Court in Sirajganj after the MP failed to appear despite a prior summons.

Earlier, the court had directed Amir Hamza to appear on 21 April in connection with the case. However, his absence on the scheduled date prompted the court to issue the arrest warrant.

Assistant Public Prosecutor Nasir Uddin told Prothom Alo that the summons had been issued on 2 April, instructing the MP to appear before the court.

“As he did not appear on the fixed date, the court has ordered his arrest in the defamation case,” he said.

When contacted around noon, Amir Hamza briefly told this correspondent he was in a vehicle and would speak later. Responding to questions about the warrant, he said he was unaware of the matter.

The case was filed on 2 April by Humayun Kabir, additional public prosecutor of the Sirajganj District and Sessions Judge’s Court and general secretary of the District Bar Association.

According to the complaint, Amir Hamza made offensive and defamatory remarks by labelling Iqbal Hasan Mahmud as an “atheist” and making derogatory comments about Islam. The lawsuit was filed under sections 296, 500, and 504 of the Penal Code.

The incident stems from remarks made on 26 March, when Minister Iqbal Hasan Mahmud delivered a speech paying tribute to the Bangladesh Liberation War and the freedom fighters.

Following that, during a discussion before Friday prayers at a mosque in Hatsh Haripur area of Kushtia sadar upazila, Amir Hamza allegedly referred to the minister as anti-Islamic and an atheist.