Bangla Court Issues Arrest Warrant Against J-I chief

Bangladeshi court today issued an arrest warrant against fundamentalist Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) chief Motiur Rahman Nizami and three others for disobeying its order in a case against them for defaming Prophet Muhammad.

Metropolitan magistrate Mehdi Ahsan Talukdar issued the warrant against the four leaders of the country’s biggest Islamist political party as they “failed to appear” before the court to face hearing on a charge, accusing them of hurting the Muslim religious sentiment by defaming Prophet Muhammad, court officials said.

“The four Jamaat (JI) leaders did not appear to face the hearing set for today, nor they appointed any lawyer to speak for them on the stipulated date today,” a government prosecutor told newsmen explaining reasons behind the court order.

He, however, added that another accused and leader of JI’s student wing was granted bail as he appeared before the downtown court to face the charges.