The proposed Digital Security Act to replace section 57 of the ICT Act is in some respects even broader than the one it seeks to replace and violates the country's international obligation to protect freedom of speech, Human Rights Watch says.
The cabinet is likely to approve the Digital Security Act-2018, incorporating section 57 of the ICT Act in the proposed law with some modifications despite outcries from rights activists and journalists over the controversial provision.
The much-maligned Section 57 of the infamous Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Act 2006 has come in handy again for suppressing dissent. This time the target is a well-known professor of law of the University of Dhaka, a reputed columnist and an eloquent speaker.
It has been reported that within the first seven months of this year, around 300 cases were filed under the controversial Section 57 of the ICT Act. And yet, now when the government has decided to scrap the provision from the law, it does not bring any relief.
Amid calls for the repeal of section 57 of the Information and Communication Technology Act, the government has decided to revoke the controversial section that is prone to misuse.
Dhaka University teacher Prof Asif Nazrul has been sued under section 57 of the ICT Act over a Facebook post, which the teacher claimed was uploaded from a fake account.
The government will clarify its position on the controversial section 57 of the Information and Communication Technology Act while placing the proposed Digital Security Act before the parliament, Law Minister Anisul Huq said yesterday.
Cases filed under section 57 of the Information and Communication Technology Act are piling up, as the government is "undecided" what to do with the controversial section.
Another man was arrested under controversial section 57 of the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Act over an alleged Facebook post.
Demanding repeal of the section 57 of the Information and Communication Technology Act, the BNP alleges that the government is repressing journalists using the section.
The Editors' Council yesterday demanded the government fully repeal section 57 of the Information and Communication Technology
Despite the law minister's repeated assurance that Section 57 of the Information Communication Technology (ICT) Act would be scrapped, the controversial section remains alive and well and is being increasingly used to file cases against journalists. Now it is reported that, while Section 57 will be removed from the ICT Act, it will be incorporated in the new Digital Security Act, 2016.
The government will finalise the draft of Digital Security Act in August, Law Minister Anisul Huq says. And the much-talked about section 57 of Information Communication and Technology (ICT) Act will remain in force till August when the government will take decision in this regard, he added.
At least 21 journalists were sued under section 57 of the Information and Communication Technology Act in the last four months amid growing demand for repeal of the provision which is wide open to misuse.
The punitive measures introduce by Bangladesh government are harsher than the ones made by the colonial rulers. The controversial section 57 got embedded into the proposed digital security law which seems to have offered police much more powers to make arrest. Which one is more repressive law: the one made by the colonial ruler or our government, asks Shakhawat Liton.
Marking 2016 a repressive year for press freedom in Bangladesh, London-based ARTICLE 19, an NGO defending freedom of expression, says 320 violations, including murders, abductions and threats against journalists, took place within that period.
Eminent writers, scholars and cultural activists have issued a joint statement voicing frustration over failure to bring the killers of writers and free thinkers to justice.
Two people arrested from Satkhira's Shyamnagar upazila over allegedly posting Facebook status demeaning hajj.
A Faridpur court exempts journalist Probir Sikdar from appearing before it in a case filed under Information and Communication Technology Act.
