The Digital Security Act, 2018 is a digital security law in Bangladesh. This act was passed with the aim of preventing the spread of racism; sectarianism; extremism; terrorist propaganda; and hatred against religious or ethnic minorities through social media, print media or any other electronic media. Any content over the internet or any other media that was deemed pornographic or otherwise inappropriate by the government could be punished by fines or prison terms of various lengths. It is a controversial law and it was feared that the law could be used to suppress dissenters against the government due to some of its provisions that are vague and ambiguous, open to interpretation or prone to abuse. This law has been used to sue and arrest some journalists, activists and criminals.
History
Digital Security Act was adopted in October 2018.
The provision passed the Parliament of Bangladesh in September 2018. The act allows police officers to detain people without a warrant. The act was opposed by members of the media, the opposition
Jatiya Party, and human rights organizations. The act was created using Section 57 of Information and Communication Technology Act, which was passed in 2006, as the model. The act was protested by the
Editors' Council. The Daily Star has been critical of the application of the act, describing it as a gag on the free press.
Cases
The Bangladesh police headquarters has reported that in the first five months of 2020, 403 cases were filed and 353 arrests were made under the Act.
Prominent cases
* On 14 April 2020, Journalist Golam Sarwar Pintu, of Dainik Bangladesher Alo, was arrested under Digital Security Act.
* On 17 April 2020, Toufique Imrose Khalidi, editor of
Bdnews24.com, and Mohiuddin Sarker, editor of
Jagonews24.com, for publishing a report on the looting of relief materials in
Thakurgaon District
Thakurgaon ( bn, ঠাকুরগাঁও জেলা, ''Thakurgaon Jela'' also ''Thakurgaon Zila'') is a district in the north-western side of Bangladesh. It is a part of the Rangpur Division and borders India to the west. It was established ...
. The case was filled by
Swechasebak League, the volunteer wing of
Bangladesh Awami League
Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...
, leader Mominul Islam Bhasani.
* On 29 April 2020, three journalists were sued in
Narsingdi District
Narsingdi District ( bn, নরসিংদী জেলা) is a district in central Bangladesh. It is located 50 km north-east of Dhaka, capital (political), capital city of Bangladesh. It is a part of the Dhaka Division. The district is fa ...
under the act after publishing news report on an auto rickshaw driver who died after a confrontation with members of
Bangladesh Police
The Bangladesh Police ( bn, বাংলাদেশ পুলিশ) of the People's Republic of Bangladesh is a law enforcement agency, operating under the Ministry of Home Affairs. It plays a crucial role in maintaining peace, and enforcement ...
. The journalists worked for the local newspapers, Dainik Grameen Darpan and Narsingdi Pratidin.
The case was filled by officer-in-charge of Ghorashal Police Station, Johirul Alam.
* On 6 May 2020, 11 people were sued by the government of Bangladesh by Assistant Director, Abu Bakar Siddique, of unit 3 of
Rapid Action Battalion
Rapid Action Battalion or RAB, is an anti-crime and anti-terrorism unit of the Bangladesh Police. This elite force consists of members of the Bangladesh Army, Bangladesh Police, Bangladesh Navy, Bangladesh Air Force, Border Guard Bangladesh, Ba ...
. Among them were two journalists, one cartoonist
Ahmed Kabir Kishore
Ahmed Kabir Kishore ( bn, আহমেদ কবির কিশোর; born 1974) is a Bangladeshi cartoonist. He was accused of drawing cartoons and held in pre-trial detention in Bangladesh under the country's infamous Digital Security Act for ...
, and one writer, the older brother of
Xulhaz Mannan
Xulhaz Mannan ( bn, জুলহাজ মান্নান; 12 October 1976 – 25 April 2016) was an employee of the United States embassy in Dhaka and the founder of Bangladesh's first and only LGBT-themed magazine, '' Roopbaan''. He was kil ...
, Minhaj Mannan Emon,
Asif Mohiuddin
Asif Mohiuddin (born 24 February 1984) is a Bangladeshi anti-islamic and secular activist, religious critic and feminist. In 2012, he won The Bobs-Best of Online Activism award from Deutsche Welle, who stated that "Asif's blog was one of t ...
, and
Tasneem Khalil
Tasneem Khalil is an exiled Bangladeshi journalist. He is Editor in chief of Netra News. He previously worked for ''The Daily Star (Bangladesh), The Daily Star'' and was a stringer for CNN and a consultant for Human Rights Watch. During the 2006 ...
.
Mushtaq Ahmed, one of the 11 accused, died in prison on 25 February 2021. He had been in detention since his arrest in May 2020.
* On 6 May 2020, Sub-inspector Motaleb of Rupganj police station in
Narayanganj District
Narayanganj District ( bn, নারায়ণগঞ্জ, Narayoṇgonj) is a district in central Bangladesh which is a part of the Dhaka Division. It is home to the ancient city of Sonargaon and is one of the oldest industrial districts in the ...
filed a case against Momen Prodhan for sharing a picture mocking
Soto Monir
Soto Monir ( bn, ছোট মনির) is a Bangladesh Awami League politician and the incumbent Member of Parliament of Tangail-2. He was the joint secretary of Awami League's branch in Germany.
Career
Monir, aka Tanvir Hasan, entered studen ...
,
Member of Parliament
A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...
of
Tangail-2
Tangail-2 is a constituency represented in the Jatiya Sangsad (National Parliament) of Bangladesh since 2019 by Soto Monir
Soto Monir ( bn, ছোট মনির) is a Bangladesh Awami League politician and the incumbent Member of Parliament of ...
for harvesting unripe rice plants.
* On 8 May 2020, Journalist Shafiqul Islam Kajol, who had disappeared, was "found" and charged under this act by Bangladesh Police.
Reception
According to
Article 19, the act violates human rights and threatens freedom of speech in Bangladesh.
According to
Amnesty International
Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says it has more than ten million members and sup ...
the act places ''"dangerous restrictions on freedom of expression"''. It believed the act will be used against dissidents, similar to the way
Information and Communication Technology Act was used to detain hundreds of people. The act has been criticized by the United States as something that could be used to suppress free speech. Bangladesh Nationalist Party has called for the act to be repealed.
22nd Chief Justice of Bangladesh,
Syed Mahmud Hossain is a strong supporter of the act. In a verdict made on March 6, 2021, Hossain cautioned an accused of violating the act that there would be no consideration of bail for people who would tarnish the image of Bangladesh in any manner.
See also
*
Freedom of the press in Bangladesh
Freedom of the press in Bangladesh refers to the censorship and endorsement on public opinions, fundamental rights, freedom of expression, human rights, explicitly mass media such as the print, broadcast and online media as described or mentione ...
*
Torture and Custodial Death (Prevention) Act Torture and Custodial Death (Prevention) Act is a Bangladeshi law that criminalized torture in custody passed in 2013.
History
Torture and Custodial Death (Prevention) Act was established in 2013 by the government of Bangladesh as part of its co ...
External links
Official English translation of the Digital Security Act, 2018 as published by the Bangladesh Gazette
References
{{Reflist
Law of Bangladesh
2018 in law
Censorship in Bangladesh
Freedom of the press