The plaintiff in a case filed against the Prothom Alo for publishing an Eid greeting cartoon featuring a dog has alleged that he has been subjected to intimidation by the newspaper authorities.
Nazrul Islam has said since the filing of the case, he has faced various forms of harassment. “Since the filing of the case, I have been intimidated in various ways. They are going around my house like detectives and are looking into my family,” he stated.
On Monday, Nazrul filed a lawsuit application with a court against the Prothom Alo for hurting religious sentiments of the Muslims by publishing the blasphemous cartoon.
Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Md Saifuzzaman recorded the plaintiff’s statement and set Sunday to pass an order. Prothom Alo Editor Matiur Rahman and the graphics designer were made accused.
Nazrul further said he filed the case against the Prothom Alo for the sake of peace of the country, noting that he is not afraid of any threats.
He alleged that the Prothom Alo intentionally sought to destabilise the country by publishing the cartoon after a period of relative calm following the August 5 changeover.
“Eid-ul-Fitr is a day of enormous joy for Muslims. And one of the most disliked animals for Muslims is the dog. Although dogs are part of Bengali culture, we used to consider it normal. The Prothom Alo has published the picture of a dog in a well-planned manner to create an unstable situation within the country,” the plaintiff said.
He also alleged that the Prothom Alo helped the fascist government stage militant dramas, hoping that the newspaper will be given maximum punishment under the prevailing law of the country.
On March 30, the Prothom Alo published a satirical cartoon titled “Eid Mubarak” across the 2nd, 3rd and 4th columns of its front page, which included the picture of a dog.
The applicant claimed that this satirical cartoon dishonoured the sacred festival of Islam. As a national daily, the Prothom Alo showed no hesitation in mocking such a holy religious occasion like Eid.
By depicting a cartoon of a dog with a lewd, humorous expression to illustrate human joy, the sanctity of Eid and the religious sentiments of the Muslim Ummah were gravely insulted.
The applicant further alleged that this act was a deliberate and well-planned conspiracy aimed at dishonouring and undermining the sacred religious festival of Eid-ul-Fitr.
The accused knowingly, intentionally and willfully disrespected the holy festival of Islam through the publication of this satirical cartoon, thereby grievously offending the religious sentiments of the Muslims.
bd-pratidin/GR
