Lutfur Rahman Shawon

Case Summary

Journalist Lutfur Rahman Shawon (31) was alleged for posting on Facebook via his personal ID and Facebook page to defame the Prime Minister of Bangladesh and the High Court in August 2021. He was arrested on 25 December 2021. After two days of arrest, police prayed for remand to interrogate him but it was denied, and the concerned Magistrate sent him to jail. The charge sheet of the case including a forensic report submitted to the court in 2022 stated that the Informant of the case Mahbubul Alam, Joint Convenor of the Student League (Student wing of the incumbent ruling party) brought allegations against Shawon for posting two statuses on Facebook, where one of them was posted in 2015 and another in 2017 which was clearly before the enactment of the Digital Security Act 2018. After spending almost 10 months and five days in jail, in October 2022, Shawon was released from jail on bail. It appears that the informant, also a journalist by profession and a student leader of the ruling party, filed the case against Shawon using the DSA as a tool of harassment and to teach him a lesson as Shawon had been affiliated with the journalist group which supports an oposition political party. The case is still ongoing and the suffering of Shawon has been continuing since 2021 which knows no bounds.

Case Details

On 25 December 2021, Lutfur Rahman Shawon was arrested on charges under the Digital Security Act (DSA). Shawon, who works as a correspondent for the “Daily Bijoyer Kantho” in Chhatok, Sunamganj was accused of defaming the Prime Minister of Bangladesh and the High Court on social media. The FIR had been lodged by one Mahbub Alam, Joint Convenor of the Student League of Chhatok Upazilla, Sunamganj, Sylhet. The case was filed on 20 August 2021.

According to FIR, the case against Shawon also includes charges of aiding and abetting the breakdown of the law and order situation through destroying communal harmony. He has been charged under Sections 25(1)(a)&(b)/25(2)/29(1)/31(2)/35(2) of the Digital Security Act 2018 for sharing posts on digital or electronic media.

Background

It was alleged that, on the social media platform Facebook, images of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and the High Court were distorted and shared by an account named H M Shawon. The individual was charged with the crime of aiding and abetting the breakdown of the law and order situation by destroying communal harmony. Consequently, a case was filed by Mahbub Alam who was also a student leader of the ruling party. Following the case, Nazmul Hasan Sheikh, Sub Inspector of Police, arrested Shawon from his home at midnight on 25 December 2021.

According to the FIR, the Informant, Mahbub Alam (25) reported that he saw a Facebook post with a disturbing caption that read, “All the courts are Hasina’s petticoat.” The post also contained

a distorted image of the Prime Minister and High Court. In addition, he came across another post with the caption, “Make a bamboo stick and wash the Bakshalish.” Both of these posts were shared by an individual with a Facebook ID namely ‘H M Shawon’, who is the accused in this case.

It was alleged that Shawon created a Facebook page and group with the intention of spreading rumors, misinformation, false information, and propaganda through social media. His actions were aimed at tarnishing the image of the state and government, as well as that of the Bangladesh Awami League and the student league. Shawon was also allegedly responsible for spreading distorted images, which further damaged the reputation of these organizations.

Remand

Two days after the arrest, the police prayed for remand to the court, while Shawon’s lawyer applied for bail. However, neither of them was granted, and he was sent back to jail on 28 December 2021.

Bail

On the morning of 26 December 2021, around 7:30 am, Shawon was taken to the magistrate court handcuffed by four police officers. His family had hired Pankaj Kumar as his lawyer, who prayed for his bail before the Magistrate Court of Sunamganj. However, the court denied his bail and sent him to jail on the same day. Along with nine other accused of various other cases, Shawon was taken to Sunamganj jail in a police van, where they were all handcuffed and roped around the waist.

Shawon’s lawyer filed applications for bail before the magistrate court three times. All the applications were rejected. Thereafter they initiated to take the bail matter before the High Court. During the pendency of hearings before the High Court, the police submitted the charge sheet and transferred the case to the Sylhet Cyber Tribunal. At this point, Shawon had to appoint a new lawyer to represent him. His new lawyer, Adv. Shahidujjaman filed a bail application twice before the Cyber Tribunal, and Shawon was finally granted bail on 30 October 2022, in the second attempt.

Charge sheet

The police submitted the charge sheet on 31 July 2022. After the submission of the Charge Sheet, the case was transferred to the Sylhet Cyber Tribunal while Shawon was still in jail. According to the charge sheet, on 20 August 2021, around 4 PM, the informant of the case Mahbub Alam saw posts from the Facebook ID named H M Shawon, captioned as “All the courts are Hasina’s petticoat.” The post also contained a distorted picture of the Prime Minister and High Court, and another post read, “Make a bamboo stick and wash the Bakshalish”. The charge sheet also alleged that Shawon had been operating a Facebook page and group to spread rumors, misinformation, false information, and propaganda through social media. This was done to tarnish the image of the state and government, Bangladesh Awami League, and the student league by spreading distorted images. Mahbub Alam filed the case against Shawon under Sections 25(1)(a)&(b)/25(2)/29(1)/ 31(2)/35(2) of the Digital Security Act 2018.

During the investigation, the officer visited the location, seized the suspect’s mobile device, and interviewed witnesses. After that, the officer sent the device for forensic examination. The forensic report attached to the charge sheet clearly stated that there is no proof that the accused Shawon shared the alleged posts using the alleged ID. The most highlighted part of the report was those posts that were given on 27 January 2015 and 22 August 2017 when DSA didn’t even exist. Additionally, no clear evidence was found in the investigation that the accused Shawon created the Facebook group to spread rumors. However, according to the Informants’ allegation, Shawon did share the posts, which caused chaos in the community and became a reason for deteriorating the law and order situation in the area. Following the FIR and without considering the forensic report, the investigating officer found the allegation against Shawon to be initially true and prayed for taking appropriate action against Shawon accordingly.

Chronology of Legal Proceedings

1st Hearing : 26 December, 2021. Bail Hearing. The bail was denied and Shawon was sent to jail.2nd Hearing : 28 December, 2021. Remand Hearing. The remand was denied and Shawon was sent to jail.3rd Hearing : 30 October, 2022. Bail Hearing. The bail was granted.

Accused’s Statement

On 25 December 2021, about five to six police officers arrived at Shawon’s residence while he was about to sleep. Shawon was unaware of any complaint against him and had just returned home from his in-law’s house around 12:40 am. Due to his profession, he was familiar with police officers and willingly allowed them to enter his house. However, Investigation Officer Nazmul Hasan Sheikh, who was recently transferred to Chhatok and unknown to Shawon showed a digital copy of the complaint on his phone and wished to enter his bedroom to check his mobile phone. Shawon refused to let them enter the bedroom as his wife was still inside. Instead, he handed over his mobile phone for checking.

Shawon stated that, “After checking my phone, the officer made a call and discussed my phone check with someone else. Following the phone call, the officer seized my second mobile phone and asked me to go to the police station to speak with the Circle Officer. That moment I assumed they were arresting me without warrant and asked my father to inform the press club president and other acquaintances about the incident.” Shawon’s father was anxious, but the police officers assured him and his family members not to worry.

He was taken to the local police station in a police car. After arriving at the station, all the officers left the station leaving him alone with the Duty Officer. His family members and other acquaintances arrived at the police station about half an hour later. They persistently requested to meet with the acting Officer-in-Charge (OC) of Chhatok police station. Eventually, the OC appeared and showed them the First Information Report (FIR) which was filed on the same day based on a complaint filed almost three months ago. It is claimed by Shawon that, although the lodging date and time on the FIR was shown a previous date, it was actually filed after his arrest. The officers interrogated him about posts on social media which were found to be fake and edited. He complied with the officers by giving them his mobile phone password. After his family and acquaintances left the police station, the officers held him in lock up, and Shawon had to spend a cold winter night there without warm clothes.

Around 7:30 am, on 26 December 2021 morning, four police officers took him to the magistrate court handcuffed and his family appointed a lawyer, Pankaj Kumar who prayed for his bail in the Magistrate Court, Sunamganj. The court didn’t grant bail and sent him to the Jail. Shawon said, “I was taken to the Jail in Sunamganj with nine other accused persons of other cases being handcuffed and roped around the waist on a police van. After reaching there, they kept me in quarantine for 14 days before taking me to the cell with other accused persons.”

After he spent two days in jail, on 28 December 2021, the police prayed for remand to the court while his lawyer prayed for bail on the hearing, but neither of them was granted and he was sent to jail. Then the lawyer applied for bail in the magistrate court three times in total and after that applied to take the case to the High Court. During the pendency of the hearing before the High Court, police submitted the charge sheet on 31 July 2022. Thereafter the case was transferred to the Cyber Tribunal while he was still in jail. His newly appointed lawyer in Cyber Tribunal, Sylhet Adv. Shahidujjaman applied for bail twice, and the court granted bail on the third time on 30 October 2022.

He spent a total of 10 months and 5 days in jail. Shawon referred to the forensic report and claimed that, “The posts on Facebook were fake, edited, and were dated in 2015 and 2017 from a time far in the past before the DSA was enacted. According to the Forensic Report, no evidence was found in my phone or Facebook account of that defaming post that was included in the police investigation report.” As Shawon was involved in politics during student life, he thought he was targeted due to previous enmity. The Informant of the case, Mahbub Alam who is also a journalist of the Daily Kaler Kantho and a member of a different press club in Chhatok used his political identity (Joint Convenor of the Student League) in this case just to have an influence over the police. The case is still ongoing, Shawon claims that he and his family have already been in debt of over 8 lac Taka in defending the false allegation.

Current Status of the Accused

The case is still ongoing before the Cyber Tribunal Sylhet and he has to attend the hearing on a regular basis.