Civil society and various organisations from the very outset have voiced fears that the Digital Security Act would be misused to obstruct freedom of express and suppress divergent views. And in reality too, over the last two and a half years or so, this law has mostly been applied against free thinking writers, journalists and critics of the government.
The apprehensions concerning the Digital Safety Act are now a harsh reality. This issue has come to the forefront again after writer Mushtaq Ahmed died in custody on Thursday, after being arrested and imprisoned nine months ago.
While there have been repeated demands for the cancellation or the amendment of this law, which had become a tool of harassment and repression, the government had made no response so far. On the contrary, this law is being used to file one case after the other against journalists, accusing them of ‘tarnishing the image’ of the government and or ‘anti-state’ activities. From the very beginning, local and foreign organisatons have maintained that this law is curbing freedom of speech of the media and the people.
The New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists, CPJ, on Friday issued a statement calling for the immediate cancellation of the Digital Security Act which was used unjustly against journalists. Within the country, the Human Rights Forum Bangladesh (HRFB), a platform of 20 organisations working with human rights, development and citizens’ rights, said in a statement on Friday that the extensive misuse of the Digital Security Act was seriously curbing the rights to free thought, expression, right to information and press freedom.
Dhaka University’s emeritus professor Serajul Islam Choudhury told Prothom Alo, when the Digital Security Act was enacted, it was suspected from back then that this would be misused. That suspicion gradually became real. It is being extensively misused. Anyone is being caught and taken away. Bail is not being granted. There is no justification in keeping the Digital Security Act anymore. Writer Mushtaq’s death is proof that this law must be repealed.
According to the UK-based international human rights organisation Article-19, last year alone there were at least 41 cases under the Digital Security Act against writers and journalists. And 75 writers and journalists were accused in these cases, among whom 32 were arrested. Last year 197 cases were filed under this act against 368 persons of different professions.
However, the figure is even higher in the records of the police headquarters. In just the first five months of last year, there were 403 cases under this law against 353 persons. Records of the police headquarters regarding the next seven months were not available.
On 4 January, Prothom Alo asked assistant inspector general (AIG) of the police headquarters (media and public relations) Md Sohel Rana, how many cases had been filed in the country under this act, how many accused there were and how many were arrested. A month and a half later, no information has been provided in this regard as yet.
The ICT Act was drawn up in 2006 to control, prevent and take action against the use of internet and social media to commit crimes in the country. In 2013 the law was amended and Section 57 added. Under this section, the number of cases increased against defamation, criticism, tarnishing the state’s image, and a number of other allegations, through writings in the electronic media. The law was abolished under strong criticism and in October 2018 the Digital Security Act was promulgated. But the essence of Section 57 was included in this new law. In fact, certain even stricter clauses regarding information and expression were included.
Prothom Alo has scrutinised 197 cases filed last year under this act. Most of these cases were of defamation, malicious speech, sharing tampered pictures, spreading rumours and conspiracy against the government. The plaintiffs in around 80 per cent of the cases were the police and ruling party men. In accordance to profession, the most arrested persons are journalists.
The Editors’ Council from the very start has been voicing the apprehension that the Digital Security Act would be used to suppress independence of the media. The council said that nine clauses of the law (sections 8, 21, 25, 29, 31, 32, 3 and 53) will severely harm independent journalism and freedom of expression. The Editors Council formed a human chain in front of the National Press Club on 15 October 2018, demanding an amendment of the law.
Following the arrest of writer Mushtaq and cartoonist Kishore, the Editors’ Council issued a statement saying that the fears of the council had become a nightmare of reality.
General secretary of the Editors’ Council and editor of Bangladesh Protidin, Naem Nizam, told Prothom Alo on Friday night that, “We had been against the Digital Security Act from the very beginning. We held seminars against it, programmes like human chains, which had never been done before. Not only that, we held repeated meetings with the law minister, information minister and parliamentary committees, calling for an amendment of the law. We said that the law was a security threat to the country. It will harm the media and free thinking. Our stand remains unchanged. Personally, I want the law to be amended.”
The plaintiffs
On 31 October last year in Raipur, Lakshmipur, as a backlash to a news report, a case was filed under the Digital Security Act against four journalists including the editor of a local daily. The Raipur pourashava mayor Ismail Khokan filed the case. And the case against photojournalist Shafiqul Islam Kajal, who had been ‘missing’ for two months and then released on bail after six months in jail, was filed under the Digital Security Act by lawmaker Saifuzzaman Shikhar.
An analysis of the 197 cases reveals that 88 of the plaintiffs are Awami League lawmakers, union parishad chairmen and members and Chhatra League, Jubo League and Swechchhashebok League former or present leaders, followers and relatives. The police are the plaintiffs in 70 other cases.
The two journalist organsations, Bangladesh Federal Union of Journalists (BFUJ and Dhaka Union of Journalists (DUJ) have also demanded an annulment of the Digital Security Act, terming it as an obstacle to independent views and independent press. In a statement issued on Friday night, these two organisations (known to be anti-government), said that writer Mushtaq may have died due to torture in remand. Mushtaq and the others were arrested under the black law known as the Digital Security Act and brutally tortured in order to protect bank looters. They have demanded a judicial inquiry into Mushtaq’s death.
Article-19’s regional chief Farukh Faisal told Prothom Alo, this law is to protect certain persons of the state and the party. This law has tarnished Bangladesh’s reputation globally. This does not prove that this is a democratic country. Unless this is changed, democracy will not be ensured
The charges
Analysing the charges formed in various cases under the Digital Security Act, it is noted that most of the cases have been filed against journalists for reporting on the theft of relief goods, discrepancies in corona treatment, criticism of local MPs, river grabbing, forced occupation of property and so on. Some of the cases have been filed for criticising current happenings, the government and local representatives of the people on Facebook.
Local Swechchhashebok League president of Baliadangi thana in Thakurgaon, Momenul Islam, filed a case against four journalists there on 17 April for reporting on theft of relief rice provided by the government. The journalists were accused of publishing false reports and posting statuses on Facebook with false information. However, later a people’s representative (union parishad member) was dismissed by the local government ministry for that rice theft.
Journalist Mahtab Uddin Talukdar was arrested under the Digital Security Act for his Facebook posts regarding the MP of Sunamganj-1 (Taherpur, Sharampasha, Jamalganj), Moazzem Hossain. He was arrested on 19 May last year as the post reportedly was a defamation against the MP. Meanwhile, at a briefing on Friday in Chattogram, information minister Hasan Mahmud said that a law is required to take recourse and offer protection when the character of a journalist is assassinated online in the social media, when a housewife is defamed, a common man is digitally attacked. That is why there is the Digital Security Act. He said that the government is conscious in ensuring that this law was not misused. He said the information ministry and he himself, personally, where always alert against the misuse of this law.
Of the 197 cases analysed by Prothom Alo, the highest number of cases, that is 48, were filed for ‘false news’ against ruling party ministers, people’s representatives, leaders or activists, and ‘false information’ in Facebook statuses. And 40 cases were for insults and photo tampering directed against Bangabandhu, the president, the prime minister and important persons of the state. Then 30 cases were for objectionable remarks concerning religion, hurting religious sentiment or spreading religious hatred. Other cases have been filed on allegations of criticising Sheikh Kamal’s birthday, anti-government propaganda, criticising the police, posting Facebook statuses in favour of Jamaat leader Sayeedi who is imprisoned for life for crimes against humanity, and for making objectionable remarks against the former Hefazat-e-Islam leader Ahmed Shafi.
Article-19’s regional chief Farukh Faisal told Prothom Alo, this law is to protect certain persons of the state and the party. This law has tarnished Bangladesh’s reputation globally. This does not prove that this is a democratic country. Unless this is changed, democracy will not be ensured.
Annulment of the law is one thing, but it should never have been enacted in the first placeShadeen Malik, Supreme Court lawyer
No proof in most cases
The cases under the previous ICT Act and the present Digital Security Act are being tried at the Dhaka Cyber Tribunal. Till September last year, there have been 2,682 cases at this court. Over half of these are cases filed under Section 57 of the ICT Act.
Over the last seven years, the Dhaka Cyber Tribunal has settled 990 cases. Over 450 of these were settled after the submission of the final report in the cases. In many cases, the accused were acquitted as there was no substance to the cases. According to records, the public prosecution could only prove allegations with due evidence in 25 cases. Of these, 24 were under the ICT Act and one under the Digitial Security Act.
Reputed lawyer Shahdeen Malik told Prothom Alo, nowhere else is there this matter of tarnishing image. In any democratic country, if the tarnishing the image of the government, political leaders and institutions is seen as a crime, then this amounts to curbing freedom of speech. To have such a law as well as freedom of speech in a country is contradictory. He said, annulment of the law is one thing, but it should never have been enacted in the first place.
This report appeared in the print and online edition of Prothom Alo and has been rewritten for the English edition by Ayesha Kabir