Jamaat serves legal notice on Prof Sayeed
Staff Correspondent
Jamaat-e-Islami Bangladesh yesterday served a legal notice on Awami League leader Prof Abu Sayeed for making 'derogatory and disparaging remarks and unfounded allegations' in his book 'Aghoshito Juddher Blueprint' (Blueprint of an Undeclared War).Barrister Abdur Razzak on behalf of the ruling coalition partner served the notice also on printer and publisher of the book, which came out last month, for 'aiding and abetting in making those defamatory statements'. The notice called for 'a note of apology' to be published on the front page of Bangla daily Janakantha and two other widely circulated national dailies and withdrawal of all copies of the book within three days. "The book contains an appendix under the heading 'A short special report on Jamaat's extended meeting on 'evaluation and training' which purported to reveal that our client held a meeting on 11th and 12th April 2003 wherein it designed a conspiracy against the country, and against BNP with which it has formed the Government," the legal notice read. The notice said that Jamaat denies holding any such meeting on April 11 and 12 in 2003 at Chittagong International Islamic University Auditorium in the manner alleged or otherwise. It (Jamaat) also denies making 'any derogatory remarks about any leader of the Four Party Alliance, or about the Prime Minister, or that it made any plan to wage war against the USA, or planned to import arms into Bangladesh, or give arms training, or set up any arms training centres inside Bangladesh, or has any plan to change the national anthem of Bangladesh, or change the name of the Republic,' the notice continued. "These and other allegations made in the document, are strenuously denied by our client as being false and concocted, and a figment of imagination of the author," the notice added. The notice said the printer and publisher of the book had intention of 'making those statements known to the people at large and consequently to develop feelings of hatred, contempt, disrespect towards Jamaat. It said they [printer and publisher] had neither examined the veracity of the contents nor had sought any comments from any responsible member of Jamaat. Detectives seized 18 copies of 'Aghoshito Juddher Blueprint' and 'Brutal Crime-Documents' from the Dhanmondi residence of Sayeed, the former state minister for information, on February 18. The books portrayed rise of extreme communal forces and armed militants and brutality on the opposition activists following the parliamentary elections in 2001.
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