Legal notice served on Bangladesh govt for scrapping section 57

Eleven citizens, including some academicians, sent a legal notice yesterday to the government, asking it to inform them of steps taken to scrap much-criticised Section-57 of the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Act. 

According to the section, if any person deliberately puts up false, obscene and derogatory information on a website or transmits them in any other electronic form, he or she will be sentenced to seven to 14 years' imprisonment and fined up to Tk 1 crore.

Supreme Court lawyer Jyotirmoy Barua served the notice on their behalf to the secretaries to the ministries of law, home and ICT, saying that appropriate legal action would be taken if they did not respond to the notice in 24 hours.

The provision contradicts constitutional rights of freedom of expression, reads the notice calling for its cancellation. 

Those who sent the notice are Dhaka University teachers Ahmed Kamal, Gitiara Nasreen, Fahmidul Haque, Tanzimuddin Khan and Samina Lutfa and former DU teacher Akmal Hussain, Jahangirnagar University teacher Anu Muhammad, Bam Morcha (left alliance) leader Abdus Salam, singer and writer Arup Rahi, writer Rakhal Raha and Biplobi Workers' Party General Secretary Saiful Huq.

Earlier on Wednesday, Zakir Hossain, an accused in a case filed under this section with the cyber crimes tribunal in Dhaka, filed a writ petition with the High Court challenging the legality of the section.

He also prayed to the HC to declare the section unconstitutional

Supreme Court lawyer Eunus Ali Akond on the same day sent a legal notice to the government, requesting it to scrap Sections 57 (1) and 86 of the ICT law.

Section-86 of the law says government permission must be taken ahead of any legal action against any public servant. The two sections are discriminatory and unconstitutional, Akond said in the notice.

Though rights activists have been critical of the provisions in the law, the debate over Section- 57 and the demand for its repeal have intensified following the arrest of journalist Probir Sikdar under the act.

The arrest sparked huge protests on the streets and in the social media.