World press freedom day
‘Misuse of DSA must be stopped’
Says info minister; journalist leaders demand amendment
DSA was enforced to protect all. Many journalists also filed cases under the act against yellow journalism... But the misuse of the act must be stopped.
Claiming that the misuse of the Digital Security Act (DSA) has reached an extreme level, editors and journalists leaders yesterday demanded that the law be amended.
They made the demand while speaking at a discussion marking World Press Freedom Day, organised by Jatiya Press Club in Dhaka.
Information and Broadcasting Minister Hasan Mahmud, who was the chief guest at the event, also said the misuse of the law should be stopped.
"Digital Security Act was enforced to protect all. Many journalists also filed cases under the act against yellow journalism... But the misuse of the act must be stopped," said Hasan Mahmud.
"Filing cases for no reason and immediate arrest after a case is filed should be stopped," he added.
Speaking about the journalist leaders' demand to exclude journalists from the act, the information minister said, "I think it's not advisable to exclude a specific quarter from any law. But we should also make sure that the law is not misused against any quarter or any people."
Samakal Editor Mozammel Hossain said, "At present, we have to deal with two issues. One is the repressive laws, and another is terrorist attacks. District and upazila-based journalists are coming under attack while practising independent journalism and exposing corruption."
Jugantar Editor and former president of Jatiya Press Club Saiful Alam said, "If there are no healthy and independent media, it is difficult to deliver the output of freethinking to the audience."
Former president of Bangladesh Federal Union of Journalists Manjurul Ahsan Bulbul claimed that they went to the parliamentary standing committee with their demands regarding DSA.
"The day this Act was passed by the National Parliament, the then information minister said all the demands of the journalists were met. However, that was far from being the case," he said.
"The journalists told the minister that the law needs to be reviewed, bail clauses need to be increased, and its misuse needs to be stopped. The law minister said if the law is misused against any journalist, he will stand as a lawyer free of charge. But there have been many incidents of misuse ever since, and the minister was not available as an advocate," he added.
President of Jatiya Press Club Farida Yasmin said journalists are being harassed under the Digital Security Act.
"There is no denying that digital security laws are needed to nab cyber criminals. We demand that journalists are not harassed under the law," she said.