Law minister speaks on sentences for ongoing cases under DSA
After the decision to change the name and content of the controversial Digital Security Act (DSA) and make the Cyber Security Act, the question has arisen as to what will happen about the cases under the old law (DSA) and the sentences passed under this law.
Law minister Anisul Huq has said that they will give thought to the matter.
He said, "The position of the law is that, concerning the offences committed under the old law, the court is bound to sentence the offenders in accordance to the old law. But considerations will be made because the sentences in this law (proposed Cyber Security Act) have been considerably lightened, and this lightening of the sentences is the objective of the government and the legislature. And so efforts will be made so that the lighter sentences can be implemented."
UN Resident Coordinator in Bangladesh Gwyn Lewis called upon law minister Anisul Huq today, Tuesday, at the secretariat. After the meeting, the law minister spoke to the media about the new proposed law.
Earlier, on Monday, a decision was taken in principle by the cabinet to change the Digital Security Act and come up with the new Cyber Security Act. Once the Cyber Security Act is enacted, the DSA will be repealed. In the new proposed law the sentences have been lightened and many non-bailable sections have been made bailable. The law minister spoke in this regard to the media yesterday too.
Referring to discussions with the UN resident coordination Gwyn Lewis concerning the proposed Cyber Security Act, the law minister said that she (Gwyn Lewis) hadn't seen the new law fully as yet. As she hadn't seen it in full, she couldn't comment on it completely. She had said that if the changes that she heard about had been made, then that was good.
The law minister said, "I told her the same things as I told you all yesterday about the Cyber Security Act. There is a section in the Cyber Security Act that says that DSA has been repealed, and it will be repealed. But the technical sections in DSA will remain in the Cyber Security Act. That is why I have been saying, it has been changed. It has not been amended, but if anyone says the DSA has been repealed, that is not completely correct either. But there have been changes."
The law minister said, they have made so many changes that if the DSA was kept, then it would have to be the Digital Security (Amendment) Act. This would create a confusion. That is why it has been completely changed and a new law drawn up. Cyber security has been kept to broaden its scope. That is why it is called the Cyber Security Act.
A newsperson raised the question that BNP contends the proposed Cyber Security Act will exacerbate harassment and will be even more alarming. The law minister said that he didn't want to make a general comment on this remark. He just wanted to say that they hadn't read the draft of the law and certainly didn't understand it and that is why they made such a statement.