A Judge Went Viral After Berating A 72-Year-Old Man With Cancer For His Overgrown Lawn And Now A Petition To Remove The Judge Has Skyrocketed In Support

In 2019, a seventy-two-year-old man named Burhan Chowdhury was diagnosed with lymphoma. As Burhan battled this cancer, his home’s landscaping was understandably not a top priority.

Still, Burhan was subpoenaed by local officials in Hamtramck, Michigan, for his overgrown front lawn.

His court hearing took place over Zoom on January 10th and has since gone viral after the judge berated and fined Burhan.

“You should be ashamed of yourself,” said Judge Alexis G. Krot, “You’ve got to get that cleaned up. That is totally inappropriate.”

Burhan’s thirty-three-year-old son, Shibbir, was present at the hearing and tried to explain his father’s situation to the judge.

He had been very weak from cancer treatments and unable to care for the lawn. Shibbir was also unable to help his father since he had been in Bangladesh for three months.

Still, the judge was not hearing any of it.

“Do you see that photo? That is shameful. The neighbors should not have to look at that,” the judge responded.

After the hearing went viral, the community was outraged at the judge’s treatment of Burhan’s case, and a Change.org petition was promptly launched to remove Judge Alexis G. Krot.

Ryan – stock.adobe.com

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“As seen in the linked video, Mr. Chowdhury was out of breath and apologized. The judge, Alexis G. Krot, shamed him, spoke over him, and told him he could not use cancer as an excuse.”

“She has a history of being bigoted to immigrants. We are calling for action from the city of Hamtramck to remove Alexis Krot as a judge!” wrote Anjum Uddin, the organizer of the petition.

Since its inception, the petition has gained just shy of two hundred and fifty thousand signatures. The community is appalled that a judge would treat Burhan in such a despicable way.

“This is disgusting and shameful! Judges like her should be removed from the judicial system! Being a judge in a city like Hamtramck– where almost all of its residents are immigrants or of an immigrant family– she needs to be more aware and understanding of how she talks and treats people,” wrote Nabeha Jawany after signing the petition.

“Hamtramck needs a compassionate and empathetic judge to its inhabitants. How are we supposed to trust a justice system that lacks humanity?” wrote Mushera K., who also signed the petition.

On January 21, Anjum announced that the judge had issued an apology. However, she regarded it as “underwhelming” and “a few weeks late.”

“I made a mistake. I acted intemperately. I’m very embarrassed that I did so. I apologize to the person who appeared before me and to our entire community for having failed to meet the high standards we expect of our judicial officers and that I expect of myself,” Judge Krot wrote in her release.

Anjum refuses to accept this apology, and the petition continues to gain supporters. She said that the issue is much larger than just Burhan Chowdhury.

“It’s for all immigrants and POC who have been discriminated against, who felt like they did not belong in this country. We want to be heard, we want to be respected, we want to be treated as equals,” Anjum wrote in the update.

Besides the petition, Anjum also included a link to donate to Burhan Chowdhury directly. So far, one hundred and thirty supporters have donated just shy of five thousand dollars toward his medical expenses and home management costs. To donate to Burhan, visit his Launchgood link here.

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Katharina Buczek graduated from Stony Brook University with a degree in Journalism and a minor in Digital Arts. Specializing ... More about Katharina Buczek

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