Workers Party urges govt to revoke proposed Digital Security Act

Workers Party of Bangladesh has demanded revoking of all the repressive sections, including the Section 32 of the proposed Digital Security Act-2018.

In a statement today, the party’ polite bureau said that the government, in the face of citizen's demand, considered abolishing Section 57 of the ICT Act to remove concern from the people's mind.

But greater apprehension and anxiety grew among the people with the approval of the draft of the new law, it said.

"Although Section 57 has been repealed in the proposed law, it has been replaced in different sections of the proposed law in a new and harsher way," read the statement of Workers Party, which is an ally of Awami League in the government.

If the sections are kept, it will not only hamper freedom of journalism and journalists but also threaten freedom of expression of all, the statement also read.

The polite bureau, of which Workers Party President Rashed Khan Menon is a member, said scopes are there for widespread misuse of Section 57 in the light of Section 32 and some other sections of the proposed new law.

"These sections will particularly obstruct investigative reporting," the statement read, adding that Workers Party does not deny but considers the need for a law to deal with cyber crimes. "But it can't be acceptable if it becomes a tool for repression."

Considering everything, Workers Party called for withdrawal of the approved draft and formulate it anew upon consultation with all the stakeholders.

Earlier today, Bangladesh Democratic Lawyers Association (BDLA) demanded the government to immediately cancel the proposed Digital Security Act-2018, terming it a punitive, contradictory and unconstitutional law.

“There is no need for formulation of a new law in the name of Digital Security Act, as the existing laws are sufficient to ensure the state security”, BDLA President Advocate Sheikh Akhtarul Islam said.

He was speaking to a press conference organised by BDLA at the Law Reporters Forum’s office on the Supreme Court Bar Association premises.

Punishments for damaging the state security and public discipline have been mentioned in the section 121 of the penal code, he said.

Advocate Akhtarul Islam demanded formulation of the Digital Security Act based on the opinions and suggestions from legal experts and information technology experts.

The BDLA president said the assurance given by Law Minister Anisul Huq about his launching a legal fight for the journalists if they are affected by the proposed Digital Security Act is a political statement, as his law profession has been suspended after he became the minister.

Advocate Hasan Tarique Chowdhury, international affairs secretary of BDLA, said that the proposed Digital Security Act will damage the citizens’ right, as the section 8(2) of the proposed law has allowed the police to block the information.

Therefore, the police can harass the journalists while collecting information, he added.

BDLA’s Organising Secretary Advocate Aynunnahar Siddiqua and Executive Member Advocate Arifur Haque Rokon also spoke at the press conference.