The Appellate Division on Wednesday stayed the bail the High Court granted to Sonia Akter Smrity, a Mahila Dal leader of Rajbari, in a case filed over posting 'offensive' content on facebook against Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. Chamber Judge of the Appellate Division M Enayetur Rahim passed the order after hearing the plea of the state side.
The court stayed the bail order till November 7. The court also said that the hearing on the state's plea will be on top of the cause list of the Appellate Division. Senior lawyer AJ Muhammad Ali and Barrister Ruhul Quddus Kazal appeared for the petition in the court while Additional Attorney General Sheikh Mohammad Morshed for the state.
On Tuesday, the High Court granted interim bail to Smrity in the case. Smrity, wife of Md Khokon Mia of No 3 Beradanga area of Rajbari Sadar, is a member of Jatiyatabadi Mahila Dal's Rajbari district unit and founder president of Rajbari blood donors club. Police arrested Smrity on October 4 in a case filed under the Digital Security Act (DSA) for posting offensive status on Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Facebook .
Arefin Chowdhury, member secretary of Rajbari district Bangabandhu Sangskritik Jote, lodged an FIR against her. On October 5, Judge Kaisun Nahar Surma of Rajbari No 1 Judicial Magistrate Court rejected Smrity's bail plea and ordered to send her to jail. On October 26, Rajbari Sessions Judge Court also denied bail to Smrity which prompted her to seek bail from the HC.
In her bail plea, Smrity requested the HC to consider her as a woman and a mother of two children. According to the FIR, the accused BNP activist made insulting remarks about PM Sheikh Hasina, also president of the ruling Awami League, from her personal Facebook account in two separate statuses on August 31 and September 28. In the statuses Sriti wrote Sheikh Hasina threw abusive words to their leader Khaleda Zia, also prime minister of three times, while delivering speech," according to the FIR. No sound word comes out of her (premier) mouth," it said Sriti wrote in the posts.
END/TDM/ARS
