he High Court has ordered the government to immediately block the pages, locators and links of social networking website Facebook, which contain sensitive cartoons and pictures criticising Islam.
The directive came after two teachers – one from Dhaka University and the other from Dhaka Centre for Law and Economics – filed a writ petition in this regard the same day.
Batool Sarwar of DU and M Nurul Islam, principal of Dhaka Centre for Law and Economics, said in their petition that some Facebook pages, links and locators are showing cartoons and pictures that hurt the religious sentiment of Muslims, which is against the constitution of republic.
Responding to the petition, the HC bench of Justice Mirza Hussain Haider and Justice Muhammad Khurshid Alam Sarkar also asked the government to explain in four weeks why it should not be directed to conduct an enquiry and punish the people who are responsible for publishing such “sensitive” cartoons and pictures.
Secretaries to the ministries of home affairs and information, inspector general of police, director general of Rapid Action Battalion, and chairman of Bangladesh Telecommunications and Regulatory Commission have been made respondents to the rule.