Four Bangladeshi bloggers today became the first to be charged by a court under the country's tough cyber laws for making blasphemous comments on social media.
If found guilty, the bloggers - Asif Mohiuddin, Subrata Adhikari Shuvo, Moshiur Rahman Biplob and Rasel Parvez - could be sentenced to between 7 to 14 years in prison along with a fine of 1 crore taka (Rs 85 lakh) under the Information and Communications Technology Act (ICT).
They, however, deny the charges.
The Metropolitan Sessions Court here fixed November 6 for beginning of the trial, local media reported.
Police had arrested the four men in April following ultra rightwing group Hifazat-e Islam demanded their arrest after the bloggers made alleged blasphemous postings on social media.
According to the recently amended ICT Act, any inflammatory write-ups on sensitive religious issues can be considered a crime and those responsible can be sentenced up to 14 years in jail.
Of the four, Parvez and Shuvo were released on bail in May. Biplob and Asif got bail in June.
Their arrests drew huge criticism from people across the country, the Daily Star reported.
There has been widespread debate between atheists and fundamentalists in Bangladesh's social media for years, but it took a deadly turn in February when an atheist blogger was murdered.
The murder came amid massive rallies - the Shahbagh movement - in the capital in which secular groups demanded the hanging of Islamist leaders accused of war crimes during the 1971 war of liberation.
