Academics, journalists and rights workers at a webinar on the Digital Security Act on Saturday severely criticised the law for its repressive nature.
According to the academic who carried out a study on the law, the DSA has become a ‘violent weapon’ to spread fear in the country since its enactment in 2018, protecting the power and supressing dissent.
Webinar participants also observed that the situation was now so frightening that there was no alternative but to repeal the law which contradicted the fundamental rights guaranteed by the constitution.
The Centre for Governance Studies organised the webinar titled ‘What’s happening? Trends and patterns of the use of the Digital Security Act 2018 in Bangladesh’ in which Ali Riaz, distinguished professor of political science at Illinois State University, USA, shared a research paper on the act and its use against students, teachers, journalists, politicians and dissenting voices.
Ali Riaz and his team tracked 1,109 cases filed under the DSA, collecting detailed information, between October 2018 and August 2022, and analysed the cases in which 2,889 people, including teenagers, were prosecuted while 1,119 of them were arrested in the 47 months.
The study found that more than 40 per cent of the cases examined were related to politics.
Some 65 per cent of the cases were filed for comments on Facebook while about 18 per cent of those were lodged for remarks related to religion.
Over 10 per cent of the cases were filed for making ‘offensive’ comments on prime minister Sheikh Hasina.
The research succeeded in ascertaining the identities of 636 complainants, out of the 1,109 cases, and found that more than 70 per cent of them were members of law enforcement agencies and politicians.
Of the politicians or supporters of political organisations, some 80 per cent were linked to the ruling party or its associate organisations.
According to the study, most of the cases were filed under Section 25 of the law but most of the people were arrested under Section 35, with most of the arrested accused languishing in jail during the pre-trial stage.
Ali Riaz said that the study clearly indicated that the DSA was being used to target journalists and political opponents.
According to the study, of those accused whose professions were known, politicians and journalists numbered 301 and 280 respectively.
The act, Ali Riaz observed, has been made a violent weapon to create a freighting environment in the country.
‘There is no alternative but to repeal the act,’ said the professor, apprehending that the situation would deteriorate in the days to come.
Masood Kamal, the head of news at Bangla Tribune, criticised the way the law was used by the police, government officials, ruling party leaders and supporters.
‘Have you ever seen anyone prosecuted for maligning [opposition leader] Khaleda Zia online?’ he asked.
Saimum Reza Talukder, a senior lecturer at BRAC University, stated that the DSA should be repealed and another law might be enacted to deal with cyber security problems, hate speech and national security.
According to Elina Khan, chairperson and chief executive of the Bangladesh Human Rights Foundation, different sections of the DSA are contradictory to the constitution.
Syed Ishtiaque Reza, chief editor at Global Television, said that the government should investigate the flaws and misuse of the act.
CGS executive director Zillur Rahman moderated the webinar.
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