60pc DSA cases filed by agencies, govt or AL activists
Around 60 percent of the Digital Security Act cases were filed by law enforcement agencies, the government, or pro-government political parties, according to a research paper by Centre for Governance Studies (CGS).
It found that at least 4,520 people have been charged in 1,436 cases filed between October 2018 and September 2023.
CGS tracked the identities of the accusers of 859 cases and found that ruling party activists filed 263 of them, suing 887 people.
In comparison, activists from other political parties filed nine DSA cases.
The DSA was wholly abused as a tool of political repression, the researchers found.
The study titled "The Ordeal: Five years of the Digital Security Act" stated, "The share of politicians among the arrestees has increased compared to our previous study period [October 2018 – August 2022]."
This means more politicians were arrested last year, in the run-up to the January 7 national election.
"We have data regarding the professions of 1,534 individuals sued," said Prof Ali Riaz, distinguished professor of political science at Illinois State University, while presenting the findings at an online event yesterday.
At least 495 politicians were sued under the DSA, making them a third of all those prosecuted and at least a quarter of those arrested, according to the research.
Addressing the seminar, Dr Badiul Alam Majumder, secretary general of Shushashoner Jonno Nagorik, said, "The quiet now is uncanny. This law is to blame for it. We don't know who will be prosecuted at what point and for what frivolous reason. These laws have been used against political opponents."
Meanwhile, journalists constitute another third of those prosecuted.
At least 451 journalists were sued under the DSA since its inception, and 255 of them were sued for their journalistic reports.
At least 97 journalists, of them 50 working for outlets outside the capital, were arrested, said the research paper.
Of the accused, 209 journalists are associated with national-level media and 197 with regional media outlets.
Online media journalists from outside Dhaka form the largest group of journalists -- 113 -- sued under the DSA.
"Journalists outside Dhaka are the most vulnerable," said Prof Riaz.
Journalists have been accused under the DSA by 202 people.
Of the accusers, 124 are "aggrieved parties", while 61 were individuals who had not been directly impacted by the news or any other actions of these journalists.
"When the law was rolled out, journalists internalised it. By punishing one, you teach a lesson to 10 others. Editors should be deciding what journalists should and should not write -- but journalists decide by themselves that they will stay quiet," said Prof Riaz.
At least 28 minors were sued under the DSA and 22 of them were arrested, found CGS, calling the situation deeply disconcerting.
It said, "The law allowed anyone to file a case, even if he/she is not an aggrieved party. Such provision of the law, especially in a very polarised socio-political environment and highly politicised law enforcement agencies, opened the door for vigilante justice."
According to CGS data, 190 cases have been filed alleging that the accused have defamed Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
Of them, 92 were lodged by activists of the ruling party, while law enforcers filed another 31.
A total of 80 cases were lodged for the alleged defamation of ministers, and the majority of them were filed by people who were not directly aggrieved, instead of the ministers concerned. This too mostly constituted of ruling party affiliates.
"Give bail to all arrested under DSA," urged Prof Riaz, adding that since the law itself has been replaced by the Cyber Security Act last year, the "offences" should not logically still be valid.
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