CU student sued over derogatory remarks about peer’s mother

A Chittagong University student has been sued for allegedly posting obscene and defamatory remarks about a fellow student’s mother on Facebook after the latter criticised a Chhatra Shibir leader.

Sakib Mahmud Rumi, a master’s student in the university’s Arabic Department and president of the Chhatra Majlis’ Chattogram University unit, filed the case with the Chattogram Cyber Tribunal under the Cyber Security Act yesterday (29 October).

The accused, Mohammad Samiul Islam Sami, is a student of the university’s Islamic Studies Department from the 2020-21 academic session.

In a press release issued by the Chhatra Majlis, Rumi said he published a post on his personal Facebook profile around 8pm on 25 October, criticising the performance and activities of Monaem Sharif, a former Chittagong University Central Students’ Union (Cucsu) secretary for liberation war and democratic movement affairs and a Shibir leader.

Rumi questioned Sharif’s performance in office, his role in organising discussions marking national days and the maintenance of the university’s Liberation War memorial.

He also alleged that Sharif had made errors in identifying and spelling the names of the seven Bir Sreshthas, Bangladesh’s highest gallantry award recipients.

Rumi further claimed that, apart from arranging discussions on national days, Sharif had taken no significant initiatives reflecting the spirit of the Liberation War, democratic movements or the 2024 July Uprising.

Following the post, a Facebook account named ‘Al-Haitham Ibn Sami’ allegedly launched personal attacks against Rumi and made obscene and derogatory remarks about his mother.

Rumi said he later identified Sami as the person operating the account.

Rumi said the incident caused him mental distress and affected his master’s examination the following morning, on 26 October.

He said he chose to pursue legal remedies rather than take any extrajudicial action and filed a general diary (GD) with Hathazari Police Station that night.

Following legal advice, he subsequently filed the case over the alleged offensive and defamatory remarks.

Contacted over the allegations, Sami said he had apologised to Rumi through a Facebook post.

“I have posted an apology on Facebook for the comment. I have also offered an unconditional apology to Rumi, assuring him that such an incident will not happen again,” he said.

Sami denied direct involvement in Shibir politics but acknowledged supporting the organisation.

“I am not involved in Shibir politics, but I support and like Shibir,” he said.

Habibullah Khaled, secretary of Chhatra Shibir’s Chittagong University unit, said Sami was neither a member nor an activist of the organisation.

“Anyone can support Shibir. The organisation will not take responsibility for someone’s wrongdoing simply because they support Shibir without being a member. We will certainly protest against wrongdoing. But calling someone a Shibir member without any evidence is unreasonable and motivated,” he said.

In the press release, Rumi claimed that numerous students, particularly women, had faced cyberbullying at Chittagong University over the past several years because of political differences, but the incidents had not received proper judicial attention.

He said he would continue pursuing the legal process to ensure the maximum punishment for the accused.

Rumi also sought cooperation from the judiciary, government, university administration, students and journalists to ensure justice in the case.