Sheikh Hafizur Rahman Karzon

Sheikh Hafizur Rahman Karzon is a Bangladeshi academic and professor in the Department of Law of the University of Dhaka.[1][2] He was the director of the Centre for Genocide Studies of the University of Dhaka.[3]

Early life and education

Rahman earned his Bachelor of Laws and Master of Laws degrees from the University of Dhaka in Bangladesh.[4] He later obtained a Master of International Law and Economics at the World Trade Institute.[4][5]

Career

In 2004, Karzon was critical of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party led four party government's decision to ban the religious books of the Ahmadiyya and quested its constitutional validity.[6] In October 2006, Karzon wrote in favor of reforms of Bangladesh Police.[7] His book Theoretical and Applied Criminology was published in 2008.[8] He filed a petition with the High Court Division along with activist Sultana Kamal and journalist Nurul Kabir challenging the number of legal acts that deny bail to accused in Bangladesh.[9]

In February 2022, Karzon secured bail in a Digital Security Act case filed by the general secretary of Bangladesh Hindu Jubo Parishad Amit Bhowmik over a satirical Facebook post made by Karzon.[10] There were also calls for his removal from the University of Dhaka over the Facebook post allegedly hurting the religious sentiments of Hindus.[11] He had deleted the post and appolozed for his comments.[11]

Karzon published his book Nondito Shoisob Ebong Bangladeshe Kishor Oporadh O Gang Culture in 2023 focusing on youth gangs in Bangladesh.[12] In April, he was appointed director of the Centre for Genocide Studies of the University of Dhaka replacing Professor Imtiaz Ahmed.[5]

In February 2024, Karzon was included in a committee formed by the High Court Division to investigate the death of a child in a botched circumcision operation at the United Medical College Hospital.[13]

In July 2025, Karzon gave an interview to the BBC where he spoke against the mob lynching a Hindu police officer during the 2024 Baniachong police station attack.[14][15]

Karzon was among the speakers at a roundtable discussion at the Dhaka Reporters Unity on 28 August 2025 that was disrupted by a mob.[16][17] Participants, including Karzon, journalist Manzurul Alam, and former minister Abdul Latif Siddiqui, were besieged inside the venue before being handed over to police.[16] The event was organized by Gono Forum politician Abdullah Al Mahmud and lawyer Z. I. Khan Panna.[18] The following day, the Dhaka Chief Metropolitan Magistrate's Court ordered Rahman and 15 others to be sent to jail in a case filed under the Anti-Terrorism Act.[16] He demanded 50 million BDT compensation from the Muhammad Yunus led Interim government claiming his detention was a violation of his rights.[19][18]

References

  1. ^ "Latif Siddiqui and Karzon among 14 charged under Anti-Terrorism Act". The Daily Times Of Bangladesh. 2025-08-29. Retrieved 2025-09-01.
  2. ^ bdnews24.com. "Dhaka University teacher denounces 'false' terror charges, demands justice". Dhaka University teacher rejects 'false' terror charges. Retrieved 2025-09-01.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  3. ^ "Prof Karzon replaces Prof Imtiaz as Centre for Genocide Studies director". New Age. Archived from the original on 2023-05-06. Retrieved 2025-09-01.
  4. ^ a b "Mr. Sheikh Hafizur Rahman Dhaka University Profile". www.du.ac.bd. Retrieved 2025-09-01.
  5. ^ a b "Prof Hafizur Rahman made director of DU Centre for Genocide Studies". The Business Standard. 2023-04-11. Retrieved 2025-09-01.
  6. ^ "Law & Our Rights". archive.thedailystar.net. Retrieved 2025-09-01.
  7. ^ "Bangladesh Police: Existing problems and some reform proposals". The Daily Star. Retrieved 2025-09-01.
  8. ^ "Book on criminology launched". The Daily Star. 2008-06-20. Retrieved 2025-09-01.
  9. ^ "Hearing on right to bail adjourned by a week". The Daily Star. 2008-06-09. Retrieved 2025-09-01.
  10. ^ "DU teacher gets bail in DSA case". The Daily Star. 2022-02-04. Retrieved 2025-09-01.
  11. ^ a b "DU professor's removal demanded for hurting Hindu sentiment". New Age. 25 July 2021. Retrieved 1 September 2025.
  12. ^ "DULPR hosts Book Talk featuring Professor Karzon's book on juvenile delinquency, gang culture". The Daily Star. 2023-03-25. Retrieved 2025-09-01.
  13. ^ Report, Star Digital (2024-02-20). "Ayaan's death: HC forms fresh probe body". The Daily Star. Retrieved 2025-09-01.
  14. ^ "বানিয়াচংয়ে বাছাই করে 'পুলিশ হত্যা', কী ঘটেছিল?". BBC News বাংলা (in Bengali). 2025-07-26. Retrieved 2025-07-26.
  15. ^ বাংলা, বিবিসি (2025-07-26). "বানিয়াচংয়ে বাছাই করে 'পুলিশ হত্যা', কী ঘটেছিল?". Prothomalo (in Bengali). Retrieved 2025-07-26.
  16. ^ a b c "Latif Siddiqui, Professor Hafizur among 16 sent to jail". Prothomalo. 2025-08-29. Retrieved 2025-09-01.
  17. ^ "DRU office comes under mob attack | The Asian Age Online, Bangladesh". The Asian Age. Retrieved 2025-09-01.
  18. ^ a b "DU teacher denounces 'false' terror charges, demands justice". The Daily Observer. Retrieved 2025-09-01.
  19. ^ "DU Prof Karzon seeks Tk 5 crore compensation from state". Views Bangladesh. 2025-08-29. Retrieved 2025-09-01.
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