Cybercrime cases on the rise
Cybercrime has increased in Bangladesh rapidly in recent years. The number of cybercrime cases has risen almost 200 times. Most of the cases were filed under section 57 of the Information Communication Technology (Amendment) Act 2013. However, recent statistics from the cyber tribunal shows that this law is being used to harass people with baseless cases.
The cyber tribunal started in 2013 with only three cases. The next year, the number became 32, in 2015 it was 152. The number of cases within 15 September 2016 is 156, with 250 cases under investigation. In total, there are 593 cases that are under trial or investigation.
Public prosecutor of the cyber tribunal Nazrul Islam said that most of the cases are under section 57. However, only 38 per cent of cases have proven to be true, while 66 per cent of the cases saw the accused acquitted. The rest of the cases were dropped during police investigation.
According to legal experts, section 57 was questionable from the very beginning. Statistics from the cyber tribunal show that the law is being misused.
Section 57 of the ICT (Amendment) Act, 2013 says if any person deliberately publishes any material in electronic form that causes deterioration in law and order, belittles the image of the state or person, or hurts religious beliefs, the offender will be punished for a maximum of 14 years and minimum of 7 years imprisonment. It also indicated that the crime was non-bailable.
Lawyer Shahdin Malik said that section 57 is far too broad in scope. Anyone can be charged for any comment they make. The large number of false cybercrime cases being made provides ample reason to drop section 57, he said.
Former law minister Shafique Ahmed told Prothom Alo that due to the rise of cybercrimes there is a need for ICT laws, but section 57 must not be used to harass people.
Most of cases under section 57 were filed for posting indecent pictures or videos of women on Facebook. Other cases include belittling different religious beliefs, making objectionable remarks about VIPs, and publishing scandalous news online.
A review of the cyber tribunal cases shows that in the last three years 46 cases were dropped by the police as they lacked substantial evidence.
Last year, a writ petition was filed with the High Court by challenging the legality of section 57.
Three lawyers have filed the writ petition against section 57. In response to the writ of the Supreme Court lawyer Jyotirmoy Barua, the High Court division on September 1 asked the government to explain why the section would not be declared against the constitution.
Jyotirmoy Barua told Prothom Alo the numbers of cases under Section 57 have been increasing geometrically. Large numbers of people are suffering and languishing in jails under this section. Most of the cases are filed for defamation.
Police’s reports in most of the cases suggest that those cases are false. In some instances, the section has been misused for political purposes.
State minister for ICT Zunaid Ahmed Palak told Prothom Alo the numbers of cases are on rise as ICT related crimes are also on rise. Besides, 100 percent cases were never proven under any act.
The fate of section 57 would be decided after enacting the Digital Security Act. The proposed draft is under scrutiny at the law ministry.