Legal notice served to Amir Hamza over false remarks about JU

A legal notice has been served to Islamic preacher and Jamaat-nominated parliamentary candidate Mufti Amir Hamza, asking him to make a public apology for making derogatory, obscene and false remarks about Jahangirnagar University at a recent religious gathering.

The notice states that if he does not apologise within 48 hours, criminal and civil legal action will be taken against him, including a compensation claim.

On Tuesday, September 23, Supreme Court lawyer, JU senate member and former student Barrister Shihab Uddin Khan sent the notice. It was delivered by post to Amir Hamza’s village home in Kushtia.

The notice, citing newspapers, online reports and YouTube videos, said that Amir Hamza falsely claimed he was a former student of JU’s Department of Journalism and Media Studies, and made outrageous allegations such as students rinsing their mouths with liquor in the morning and beating teachers with sticks. These fabricated, defamatory and provocative statements have tarnished the long-earned reputation of JU and created resentment among students and guardians. Barrister Shihab, as an alumnus, said such baseless remarks have also caused him personal grievance. Although JU officially refuted the remarks in a statement, Amir Hamza has not issued any rejoinder, which proves his comments false and defamatory.

The legal notice asked Amir Hamza to issue a press release within 48 hours, offering an unconditional apology to JU, its current and former students, parents and the entire university community. It also asked the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) to ensure that the video clips containing the false remarks are removed from YouTube, other platforms and social media without delay.