A court in Dhaka has sentenced former Sonagazi OC Moazzem Hossain to eight years in prison in a case filed under the Digital Security Act for recording and spreading the statement of slain Feni madrasa student Nusrat Jahan Rafi.

He has also been slapped with a fine of Tk 1.5 million failure to pay which will lead to an additional six months in jail.

Cyber Tribunal (Bangladesh) Judge Mohammad As-Shams Jaglul Hossain delivered the verdict on Thursday (Nov 28) with Moazzem in the dock, Public Prosecutor Mohammad Nazrul Islam Shamim told Bangla Tribune. 

Previously on Nov 20, the tribunal set Thursday for the judgment after concluding trial.

Moazzem, who was in charge of Feni’s Sonagazi Police Station when Nusrat pressed charges of sexual harassment against her madrasa principal Siraj-ud-Doula in March, recorded her statement on his mobile phone in the absence of any lawyer or female cop.

The video was later released on social media amidst widespread protest over a deadly arson attack on Nusrat by followers of Siraj, who had already landed in jail on the sexual abuse charges, in April.

On Apr 15, Supreme Court lawyer Syed Sayedul Haque Suman filed the case under section 26, 29 and 31 of Digital Security Act against him.

On May 27, the court issued the arrest warrant against him after the Police Bureau of Investigation (PBI) submitted the report on an investigation that found evidence of the allegations brought against Moazzem.

Moazzem was arrested from Dhaka’s Shahbag on Jun 16 — 20 days after the court ordered his arrest.

The trial took off on Jul 17, when the tribunal indicted Moazzem who had pleaded not guilty.

On Oct 24, the Women and Children Repression Prevention Tribunal in Feni sentenced all the 16 accused to death for killing Nusrat.