Digital Security Act: Editors’ Council worried over case against Matiur

The Sampadak Parishad (Editors' Council) has expressed grave concern over the filing of a case against Manabzamin Editor-in-Chief Matiur Rahman Chowdhury and 31 others under the Digital Security Act. 

It also demanded immediate withdrawal of the case against the journalists, according to a statement from the Parishad issued by its President Mahfuz Anam and Secretary General Naem Nizam on its behalf.

Saifuzzaman Shikhor, a ruling party lawmaker from Magura-1, filed the case with Sher-e-Bangla Nagar Police Station on Monday night over publishing a news on the arrest of expelled Jubo Mohila League leader Shamima Nur Papia.

The case against the editor was filed by the lawmaker for allegedly defaming him in a story in which his name was not mentioned and no reference was made to him either directly or indirectly, said the statement.

The Parishad failed to understand why the lawmaker should take it upon himself to feel defamed when his name or any reference to him did not appear in any part of the report, it said.

What was done on social media by unknown users can in no way be attributed to Manabzamin, its Editor-in-Chief Matiur Rahman Chowdhury, or its reporter, it noted.

The Parishad considers the filing of the case as nothing more than an attempt to intimidate and harass the media and journalists in general. Such use of the Digital Security Act is part of the reason why Sampadak Parishad has been opposing the act from its inception, reads the statement.

Meanwhile, Amnesty International has urged the government to drop the case against Matiur Rahman Chowdhury and the 31 others.

"We call on the government to maintain restraint on further actions against the Manabzamin editor and 31 others and drop the case filed against them immediately," it said in a statement.

The case is a glaring example of how the law is being arbitrarily used against people by influential quarters and state agencies, including the police, the statement said.

"We are alarmed by the vague and overly-broad provisions within the Digital Security Act and the rigorous punishment that they entail for legitimate exercise of the right to freedom of expression," Amnesty said.

Bangladesh must decriminalise defamation and review the legislation so that it is in compliance with international human rights law, including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which Bangladesh is a state party, it said.

According to the statement, nearly 400 cases have been filed under the Digital Security Act with the cybercrime tribunal in the first 11 months since the legislation was passed in Bangladesh parliament in September 2018.

According to media reports, more than 200 cases have been dismissed for lacking sufficient evidence, it added.

In a statement yesterday, newly elected president and general secretary of Dhaka Union of Journalists (DUJ) -- Quddus Afrad and Sajjad Alam Khan Topu -- also expressed concern over the filing of the case against the journalists.