Anonymous letter makes Tureen feel threatened Files GD

An International Crimes Tribunal prosecutor, Tureen Afroz, filed a general dairy (GD) with the capital's Banani Police Station yesterday seeking “necessary action” over an anonymous postal letter attacking her with rude language for placing arguments in a contempt of court case.

Police and Tureen declined giving details of the GD.

Tureen told The Daily Star that the letter was received on Wednesday around 2:00pm at Brac University, from where she took leave from teaching to work as a prosecutor.

The tribunal judges, senior prosecutors and top law enforcing agency officials have been informed of the matter, she said, adding that she feels threatened and harassed.

“Tureen Afroz, you have placed arguments against Anu Muhammad and others before the second tribunal yesterday,” reads the first sentence of the letter dated May 12.

“Those are the cream of the country and you are not even comparable to the dust on the foot of Anu Muhammad and Zafrullah (Chowdhury),” it adds.

The remaining content is a personal attack on the prosecutor and full of expletives.

On May 11, Tureen placed arguments during the contempt proceeding at International Crimes Tribunal-2 against 23 eminent citizens including Anu and Zafrullah for their statement criticising the punishment of Dhaka-based British journalist David Bergman by the same court.

The tribunal on Wednesday gave Gonoshasthaya Kendra founder Zafrullah a one-hour's jail sentence in the dock and fined him Tk 5,000, payable in seven days, for the repeat offence. In default, he will be jailed for a month.

The remaining 22 were pardoned as they “were not well aware of the consequence of their action” which they regretted, and had committed for the first time.

Tureen got different kinds of threats several times before over discharging professional duties.