A tribunal in Dhaka has sentenced a man belonging to the Hindu community to seven-year imprisonment for hurting religious sentiments.
Dhaka Cyber Tribunal Judge Mohammad As Shams Jaglul Hossain delivered the verdict on Thursday.
The tribunal also fined the convict, Sujan Dey, Tk1,000 in default of which, he has to serve one more month in prison, said Public Prosecutor Nazrul Islam Shamim.
This is the second verdict over hurting religious sentiments, delivered by the tribunal ever since its formation in 2013, he added.
The same tribunal on September 16 sentenced Jibon Krishna Roy, a security guard, to a seven-year jailterm for posting "indecent, derogatory and objectionable" comments on Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) on social media, making it the very first verdict of its kind.
A tailoring shop employee, Sujan Dey was arrested on May 10, 2017, from Mainmukhi Bazar of Langadu upazila in Rangamati for comments on his Facebook account "demeaning Islam and the prophet."
He was sued under Section 57 of the Information and Communication Technology Act.
Hours before his arrest, local Muslim leaders and their followers staged demonstrations and demanded his punishment, accusing him of making the blasphemous statement on social media, said local police.
On August 30, 2017, charges were pressed against Sujan, who was indicted on October 26 the same year.
