Senior Supreme Court lawyer Sara Hossain has raised a set of critical questions: Will the police end their old practices of repression? If the law is misused, will the police be held accountable? And will the courts show courage?
She raised these questions during a discussion titled “Publishing Reports Related to the Digital Security Act: Important Lessons for the Future of Media Freedom in Bangladesh.”
The discussion took place on the third day of the three-day “Bay of Bengal Conversation 2025,” organised by the Centre for Governance Studies (CGS) at a hotel in Dhaka on Monday.
Sara Hossain noted that the pattern of indiscriminate arrests of journalists has decreased over the past year. She called this a positive shift, but emphasised that the role of the courts needs deeper scrutiny.
She suggested analysing judicial orders in ongoing research. According to her, the police had long remained unaccountable, and the level of independence within the judiciary also needs to be examined.
Pointing out that journalists are still being detained under anti-terror laws, she argued, this shows that the issue is not limited to the Digital Security Act (DSA) or the Cyber Security Act (CSA). The broader concern lies in the overall state of freedom of expression.
Sara Hossain said it is not just cyber laws – many are now rediscovering and applying certain provisions of the Penal Code from particular political periods. Authorities are moving beyond the cyber laws in various directions. At the same time, mob pressure is interfering – cases are being influenced so that the legal process cannot proceed properly, or gets diverted due to coercion.
The senior lawyer said that it is essential to examine how old laws are being used. Unfortunately, magistrates are now accepting cases without government authorisation, and the police are taking action as well.
Sara Hossain also commented that the Press Council is not functioning effectively. She welcomed the recommendations of the Media Commission and said that, at this moment, the Human Rights Commission and the Information Commission should be activated so that not everything ends up in the courts – some matters can be resolved through these commissions.
She added that many of the cases filed against journalists were never meant to be taken to trial; rather, they were designed to silence them – to stop them from speaking and writing.
Highlighting recent legal reforms, she said that the Supreme Court’s guidelines on arrest without warrant have now been incorporated into the amendments to the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC). This is a major step forward, but implementation remains weak.
The session was moderated by CGS research associate Roman Uddin. Other speakers included Attorney General Md Asaduzzaman, professor Sazzad Siddiqui of Dhaka University’s Peace and Conflict Studies Department, and Maneka Khanna, Senior Program Manager at Trial Watch.