The Big Picture

The project has documented 1410 cases filed under the Digital Security Act (DSA) from October 2018 to September 2023. In these cases, 4,404 individuals faced accusations, among them 1,519 persons were arrested. Tragically, Mushtaq Ahmed, an author and social activist, passed away in February 2021 under suspicious conditions while remaining in jail custody for a period of ten months. It is alleged that he was tortured in custody (Dhawan 2022). A breakdown of the cases over the five years (Oct 2018-September 2023) shows that per month on average 23.5 cases have been filed, 73.4 persons faced accusations and 25.31 accused got arrested.

The number, though really big, doesn’t cover all the cases filed or all the people accused. This is because law enforcement agencies do not share numbers of the cases and accused individuals. Even efforts under the Right to Information law have hit a dead end (see: “Unending Nightmare”, pp.11-12). Since it started in October 2018, a lot of secrecy has been wrapped around information about cases and accusations under the DSA. The data from the cyber-tribunal only shows the cases that have reached the trial stage. So, these numbers only represent a small part. However, as the Law Minister Anisul Huq revealed in June 2023, the number of cases until January 2023 was 7,001.

A noteworthy observation pertains to the fact that a majority of cases involve multiple accused individuals. According to our analysis, each case has an average of 3.12 accused. Extrapolation of the average to the number of cases mentioned by the Law Minister makes at least 21,867 persons being accused. On average 1.07 persons have been arrested per case, that makes at least 7,542 persons who have been arrested at some point of these cases going through the legal system.

While some of the arrestees have successfully obtained temporary bail, a subset remains incarcerated as pretrial detainees. The absence of governmental transparency renders it impossible to ascertain the precise number of individuals subjected to this predicament. The protracted detention of the accused aligns with the legal framework, as delineated by the 14 non-bailable sections of the law. Within the ambit of non-bailable statutes, the court possesses the discretion to grant bail at its discretion, leading to divergent outcomes for the accused. The intricacies of securing bail are underscored by instances where the court has repeatedly denied bail petitions; example include Mushtaq Ahmed, whose bail prayer was denied on at least six occasions Lutfar Rahman, where bail prayer was denied 12 times, and Imtiaz Ahmed Kajol, where bail prayer was denied 9 times.

Contrary to expectations, the increase of cyber-tribunals from one to eight, each corresponding to an administrative division, has failed to expedite trial proceedings or facilitate expeditious bail for the accused.

Regarding the professions of those accused, we determined the professional backgrounds of 1,486 individuals. Notably, politicians, journalists, and students constituted the largest cohorts, with 464 (31.22%), 442 (29.74%), and 135 (9.08%) instances, respectively. Consequently, individuals from these professional domains faced a higher rate of arrest. Among the 563 individuals about whom we have been able to obtain information, 141 were politicians, 95 were journalists, and 100 were students. In the case of teachers, out of the 59 accused, 42 were subjected to arrest, with 17 of them being madrassah teachers.

These legal actions were initiated by both the government and private individuals. We were able to identify the complainants in 846 cases. Among these, 252 cases were filed by law enforcement agencies and government officials, while 333 cases were lodged by private individuals with direct affiliations to political parties. Notably, out of these politically linked individuals, 259 were associated with the ruling Bangladesh Awami League (BAL), constituting a substantial 77.78% of all individuals with political ties.

Over the last five years, the law has been frequently invoked, alleging defamation against the Prime Minister, other ministers, and politicians. Our database indicates that 190 cases have been initiated, accusing individuals of defaming the Prime Minister. In these cases, 464 individuals faced accusations, with 161 of them subjected to arrest. Among these 190 cases, law enforcement agencies filed 31, while individuals filed 159 cases. From the latter category, we identified the political affiliations of 92 individuals, all affiliated with the ruling Bangladesh Awami League and its associated organizations.

Similarly, 80 cases were filed accusing 337 individuals for defaming various ministers. Among these cases, only eight were filed by law enforcement agencies, and six were lodged by the aggrieved ministers and their family members. The remaining 66 cases were initiated by individuals unconnected to the aggrieved parties. Notably, at least 68 individuals among the 337 accused were subjected to arrest.

Cases involving accusations of defamation against politicians have exhibited a similar trend. As of September 2023, a total of 208 cases were filed, implicating 724 individuals. Among these, seven cases originated from law enforcement agencies, 91 cases were initiated by aggrieved politicians, and 110 were filed by their supporters. Among the accused, at least 135 individuals faced arrest in connection with these cases.

In recent years, with the proliferation of internet access and the widespread use of social media, particularly Facebook, has experienced exponential growth. Social media platforms have become a prominent channel for expressing dissatisfaction with societal issues and government policies. In this milieu, the Digital Security Act (DSA) has been wielded as a tool to stifle dissenting voices. Our data indicate that 894 cases have been filed against 2289 individuals concerning posts and comments on Facebook. Among these 894 cases, 129 were specifically filed for allegedly offending religious sentiments, implicating 198 individuals.

Among the 22 sections of the Digital Security Act (DSA) addressing offenses and penalties, four have been notably prevalent: Sections 25, 29, 31, and 35. Section 25 saw the highest use, with a total of 261 cases filed, involving 892 accused individuals, out of which 179 were arrested. Similarly, Section 29 featured prominently, accounting for at least 259 cases, with 875 accused and 145 individuals subjected to arrest. Section 31 witnessed the initiation of 161 cases, encompassing 527 accused individuals, among whom 126 faced arrests. Lastly, Section 35 was used in 169 cases, with a cumulative 951 accused individuals, of which 194 were arrested.