The International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) has banned the dissemination of ‘hate speeches’ of ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in the media and on social networking platforms.

The three-member tribunal, chaired by Justice Golam Mortuza Majumder, issued the order on Thursday following a petition filed by the prosecution.

The ICT also directed the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) to remove all such speeches made earlier from all platforms.

The tribunal order came at a time when some remarks recently made by Sheikh Hasina, who fled to India on 5 August in the face of a mass uprising, started spreading on social media and stirred up controversies in the past few days.

In the comments, Sheikh Hasina, who is currently accused in at least 60 cases filed on the charges of genocide and crimes against humanity committed during Jul and August, made several inflammatory accusations against the interim government and its Chief Adviser Prof Muhammad Yunus.

The Awami League president made various statements from India regarding the interim government, which took charge on 8 August. Many of them have gone viral on social media and were covered by the mass media, creating much controversy. Earlier in the day, Prosecutor Abdullah Al Noman submitted the petition seeking the ban.

The prosecution argued that Sheikh Hasina's statements constituted hate speech, prompting the application to restrict them.

Earlier, the tribunal issued an arrest warrant for Sheikh Hasina on 17 October, the first day of proceedings concerning allegations of mass killings during the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement in July and August.

Protests in Bangladesh, which began in July as a student-led movement against public sector job quotas, culminated in the mass uprising, leading to the fall of the fascist government.