Digital Security Act: Didarul Islam denied bail

A Dhaka court yesterday again rejected a bail petition of Didarul Islam Bhuiyan, an activist of a platform called "Rastrachinta", in a case filed against him under the Digital Security Act.

Judge KM Emrul Kayesh of the Metropolitan Sessions Judge's Court of Dhaka passed the order after his lawyer submitted a petition seeking bail against the rejection order of the lower court.

On June 16, Metropolitan Magistrate Mohammad Jasim rejected both the remand and bail petitions of Didarul and three others and allowed police to interrogate them at jail gate for two days within seven working days.

During the hearing, the defence lawyer told the court that their client was arrested on May 5 and have been in jail custody since then. Didarul was implicated in the case as part of a conspiracy to harass him and so, he should be granted bail, the lawyer added.

On the other hand, Assistant Commissioner Md Farid Ahmed opposed the defence plea, saying that the charges brought against him are found to be true and appealed to the court to reject his bail petition.

Earlier on July 23, the same court rejected the bail petition of cartoonist Ahmed Kabir Kishore and writer Mushtaq Ahmed in the same case.

Eleven people were charged with "spreading rumours and carrying out anti-government activities" on May 6.

Rab-3 Assistant Director Abu Bakar Siddique said Swedish-Bangladeshi journalist Tasneem Khalil who runs Netra News, US-based journalist Shahed Alam and blogger Asif Mohiuddin are also among those named in the case.