Khadija’s ordeal lingers on

Jagannath University student Khadijatul Kubra's bail order was stayed for four months by a full Supreme Court bench, led by Chief Justice Hasan Foez Siddique, yesterday.

The bench also consisted of three other judges -- Justice M Enayetur Rahim, Justice Md Ashfaqul Islam and Justice Jahangir Hossain Selim.

Khadija has been in jail for over 10 months in two Digital Security Act cases filed for hosting a webinar.

The Appellate Division of the SC yesterday stayed for four months a High Court order that had granted Khadija permanent bail.

There were four petitions involving her bail – all of which were adjourned and stood over for four months by the Appellate Division.

This is the second time it stayed her bail.

On February 16, the High Court granted permanent bail to Khadija but the state then filed two petitions with the SC, challenging the bail order.

Following the petitions, the SC chamber judge stayed the order.

Khadija then submitted two petitions to the Appellate Division, praying that the chamber judge's stay order be vacated, said her lawyer BM Elias Kachi.

He added that the SC chamber judge then sent all the four petitions to its full bench for a hearing.

Khadija has been denied bail as many as six times, said her family.

The student was sued at the age of 17 for hosting a Facebook webinar, where a guest speaker, Delwar Hossain, a retired army officer, made contentious remarks.

Delwar, who is abroad at the moment, was also accused in these cases.

While adjourning the bail petition hearing, the bench observed, "Why would you not take responsibility for what is being said by the guest of the talk show?"

They also said that owners of private YouTube channels and their talk show participants must take the responsibility for statements made at the programmes.

When it was pointed out that Khadija was a university fresher, the bench observed that she is an adult.

Khadija, however, was sued while she was still a minor -- 17-years-old, this correspondent verified from her birth certificate. She also had to spend a week in solitary confinement due to what jail authorities termed "misbehaviour".

A student of political science at Jagannath University, she was arrested on August 27 last year after police pressed charges against her in the two cases, filed by Kalabagan and New Market police themselves on October 11 and October 19, 2020.

Khadija suffers from chronic kidney stones, a health condition that has been further complicating her stay in prison.