The Digital Security Act, or Cyber Security Act, has been formulated to be used as a weapon by exerting power, according to a US-based academic.
“The DSA reflects a lack of transparency, abuse in pre-trial detention, and cases against minors over the past five years. As long as the cases exist under these laws, the suspects, along with their families and friends, will endure a continuous painful situation,” Dr Ali Reaz, a distinguished professor at Illinois State University, told a discussion on Tuesday.
The Centre for Governance Studies (CGS) organised the webinar on DSA to mark the five-year implementation of the law and its dire consequences.
The government renamed the DSA as the Cyber Security Act (CSA) in August last year, retaining almost all provisions of the law without any consultation with stakeholders.
In his keynote, Dr Riaz outlined the discrepancy between the information published by the government and reality in cases involving detained persons under the DSA.
He pointed out that while cases have been filed against people from different professions, the majority of them are politicians and journalists.
He recommended that an independent commission be established to properly investigate the validity of DSA cases and the immediate release of those detained under the law.
SUJAN Secretary Badiul Alam Majumdar, Ain o Salish Kendra Executive Director Faruq Faisel, AFP Bureau Chief Shafiqul Alam, Lawyer Shihab Khan Uddin, and CGS Chairman Dr Manjur Ahmed Chowdhury were also associated with the webinar, moderated by CGS Executive Director Zillur Rahman.
In his speech, Zillur Rahman emphasised that people should be aware of their human and civil rights while being able to freely exercise democracy.
“The proposed Data Protection Act and how it would do the opposite of what its name suggests called for concerted efforts to address the immediate and potential chaos in the country in the areas of rule of law, human rights, and democracy,” he said.
Zillur further mentioned that the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights has categorised it as ‘draconian law’.
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