A BANGLADESH court yesterday ordered authorities to shut down five Facebook pages and a website for blaspheming the Prophet, the Quran and other religious subjects, a lawyer said.
Judges at the high court in Dhaka ordered the telecommunications regulator, home ministry officials and police to block the offending pages immediately.
“These pages contain disparaging remarks and cartoons about Prophet Mohammed, the Muslim holy book of Quran, Jesus, Lord Buddha and Hindu gods,” said Nawshad Zamir, a lawyer of the petitioner who brought the case.
“They mostly targeted the prophet and the Quran. These pages hurt the sentiments of the country`s majority Muslim population and the followers of other religions. Some of the cartoons are very close to pornography.”
The name of the website is not known.
Judges passed the order after a joint petition by a Dhaka University teacher and the head of a law school.
It is the first time a Bangladesh court has moved to shut down Facebook pages on charges of hurting religious sentiment. A similar case about allegedly offensive content is also in India.
