Arrest warrant against MP Amir Hamza over derogatory remarks against energy minister

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

The order was passed today (21 April) by the Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate Court after the MP failed to appear despite being summoned earlier, according to a report by Prothom Alo.

Assistant Public Prosecutor Nasir Uddin told Prothom Alo, “In a defamation case, the court on 2 April issued a summons asking Kushtia-3 [Sadar] MP and Jamaat leader Amir Hamza to appear before it on 21 April. As he failed to appear on the scheduled date, the court issued an arrest warrant against him and ordered his arrest.”

According to the Prothom Alo report, when contacted around 12pm, Amir Hamza said, “I’m inside a vehicle, I’ll speak later.” When asked about the arrest warrant issued by the Sirajganj court, he added, “I don’t know about those matters.”

The case was filed on 2 April by Humayun Kabir, Additional Public Prosecutor of the Sirajganj District and Sessions Judge Court, and general secretary of the district bar association. The complaint alleges that Amir Hamza made defamatory remarks by calling Iqbal Hasan Mahmud Tuku an atheist and making offensive comments about Islam, prompting charges under sections 296, 500, and 504 of the Penal Code.

The allegations stem from a statement made by Tuku on 26 March, in which he paid tribute to the 1971 Liberation War and its freedom fighters. Following that, Amir Hamza reportedly made the controversial remarks during a discussion held before Friday prayers at Hatsh Haripur Boro Jame Mosque in Kushtia.