Court rejects case plea over alleged ‘defamatory’ Facebook post on Tarique Rahman

A Dhaka cyber tribunal has rejected a case plea filed over an alleged defamatory Facebook post about BNP Acting Chairman Tarique Rahman.

Judge Saidur Rahman Gazi of the Cyber Tribunal dismissed the application on Thursday (November 20).

The petition was submitted by Ilteutmish Saudagar, joint secretary of the Nationalist Lawyers’ Forum on Wednesday. After recording the complainant’s statement, the court set Thursday for its order.

State prosecutor Rafiqul Islam told to reporters that the complaint was dismissed as the allegations did not fall under the Cyber Security Act.

According to the petition, on 15 November, accused Shahin Mahmud posted from his verified Facebook account criticising Tarique Rahman’s remark that “fair prices for potatoes are more important than a referendum”. Shahin wrote, “If you didn’t buy a bulletproof car for Tk 88 crore and gave the money to farmers, they would get fair prices for onions and potatoes.”

The complaint claimed the post was false, defamatory and intended to tarnish Tarique Rahman’s reputation, alleging offences under Sections 23(2), 25(1), 27(1) and 27(2) of the Cyber Security Act, 2025.

The court, however, found no grounds to proceed.