Limiting Free Speech Undermines the Fight Against Covid-19

Activists hold a protest rally demanding the repeal of the Digital Security Act and release of cartoonist Ahmed Kishore and writer Mushtaq Ahmed who were detained under the Digital Security Act in Dhaka, Bangladesh, on February 5, 2021.
© 2021 Mamunur Rashid/NurPhoto via AP
Activists are continuing to protest in Dhaka to demand the repeal of the Digital Security Act (DSA), a sweeping and vague law that the Bangladesh authorities are using to arrest critics, including those who speak out over the government's handling of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Recent protests ignited when, on February 4, Ahmed Kishore, a cartoonist, and Mushtaq Ahmed, a writer, were charged under the act after being held in pre-trial detention for nine months. Shafiqul Islam Kajol, a journalist, was also charged on February 4 under the DSA for posting defamatory information about Awami League leaders. The charges against Kajol come after he was allegedly forcibly disappeared for 53 days and held in pre-trial detention for seven months.

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