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IFJ 11 February 2021
Bangladesh: Three journalists charged under Digital Security Act
Bangladesh police this week formally charged three journalists under the Digital Security Act (DSA) for publishing material alleged to have the potential to ‘destroy communal harmony and create unrest’. The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) strongly condemns the charges under the draconian act and the flagrant and ongoing intimidation by police against Bangladesh media workers. Supporters and photographers form a human chain in response to journalist Shafiqul Islam Kajol s disappearance during a demonstration in Dhaka on March 18, 2020. Credit: Munir Uz zaman / AFP
Photographer Shafiqul Islam Kajol was charged on February 8, while cartoonist Ahmed Kabir Kishore and writer Mushtaq Ahmed were both charged on February 4. Bangladesh’s DSA, adopted in October 2018, puts dangerous restrictions on freedom of expression and is regularly used by authorities to silence criticism. Du
Digital Security Act: Charges pressed against Kishore, Mushtaq, Didarul
File photo: Prabir Das Star Digital Report Star Digital Report
Police have pressed charges against cartoonist Ahmed Kabir Kishore, writer Mushtaq Ahmed and Rashtrochinta activist Didarul Islam Bhuiyan in a cased filed under Digital Security Act last year.
A total of 11 people were prosecuted in the case filed by Abu Bakar Siddique, assistant director of Rab-3, with Ramna Police Station on May 6 last year.
Court sources confirmed that the police submitted the charge sheet at the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Court of Dhaka on Thursday.
Charges were framed against three of the accused, while eight others were let off, due to lack of evidence against them, the court sources confirmed.