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| Bangladesh |
| HC records fatwa victims statement |
| 2010-06-03 |
| [Bangla Daily Star] A 17-year-old girl yesterday stated before the High Court that she was tortured physically during a village arbitration in Brahmanbaria for having an affair. The girl's mother also backed her statement at the court. However, they both denied any instance of a fatwa (religious edict) against the girl. She was reportedly given 101 lashes as a punishment for having an affair. The HC bench of justices Syed Mahmud Hossain and Gobinda Chandra Tagore recorded their statements separately in a chamber attached to the courtroom. The judges later said the victim told them that she was physically tortured and they would pronounce a verdict soon on it considering the statement. Daily Prothom Alo published a report on May 22 mentioning that the girl was punished with 101 lashes during a village arbitration at Banchharampur upazila on May 19. The officer-in-charge of Banchharampur Police Station produced the victim and her mother before the bench following a previous court order. The court ordered police to ensure security of the victim and her family members. It asked the attorney general's office to talk to the Brahmanbaria deputy commissioner about the report on the incident and inform the court about it today. On May 24, the HC bench directed the Brahmanbaria DC to submit within a week a probe report on the incident. It asked the government to explain why it should not be directed to include an article on awareness against fatwa in school, madrasa, college and university textbooks. The court directives had come after Supreme Court lawyers Mahbub Shafique, KM Hafizul Alam and Imranul Hye filed a writ petition challenging the issuance of fatwa and seeking legal action against the people responsible. Deputy Attorney General Razik Al Jalil and the petitioners were present at the court. |
| Posted by:Fred |