Cancel the DSA to ensure freedom of media and its workers: TIB
Staff Reporter :
Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) has demanded an immediate cancellation of the Digital Security Act (DSA) in order to ensure the freedom press along with security of the media people.
TIB also called on the government to create an environment conducive to ensuring fundamental rights, including the right to free information and expression, freedom of thought and media and security of life of media workers, while respecting democratic accountability.
On the occasion of ‘World Press Freedom Day 2023’, TIB sent a statement to the media on Tuesday and demanded the cancellation of the restrictive digital security law, which is one of the tools of arbitrary abuse to suppress the voice of the media and protect the interests of the ruling party. According to the statement, an arbitrary misuse of the law is largely to blame as insecurity has developed in the media, and among the civil society and general people in the name of digital security.
On the occasion of World Press Freedom Day 2023, TIB Executive Director Dr Iftekharuzzaman said in the statement, “The responsibility of the government is to ensure the appropriate environment for the media as the fourth pillar of the state to play its assigned role without hindrance. It is sad but fact that even as the number of media outlets in the country has increased significantly, but fearless independent journalism has decreased equally.”
“On the issue of freedom of media, the concerned authorities are seen at various occasions trying to gain endless self-satisfaction by presenting the numerical data of the media in the country. However, efforts are ongoing to obstruct the practice of free expression of ideas and thoughts, including the suppression of the voice of the media through the harassment, attacks and lawsuits against journalists under the umbrella of the ruling group using the state machinery,” he observed.
According to Dr Iftekharuzzaman, in the World Free Media Index 2022, Bangladesh fell ten steps back to 162 in a year, which proves the alarming rate at which media freedom has declined in the country.
Since its enactment in 2018, an arbitrary misuse of various restrictive clauses in the Act has proved beyond doubt that it is contrary to people’s constitutional rights to freedom of speech and expression, he pointed out.
Blaming the arbitrary misuse of the digital security law in the field of freedom of press, Dr Iftekharuzzaman said, “Reliable research says that since the Digital Security Act came into force, one out of four cases have been filed against journalists. Most of the plaintiffs in these cases belong to the government and the ruling party. It would therefore be no exaggeration to say that the arbitrary abuse of digital security laws is a travesty of the constitutional right of expression and democratic accountability.”
Besides, filing cases under DSA after a long period of arresting journalists and detaining them under the non-bailable clause and keeping them in jail for a long time before proving the charges is a gross violation of the fundamental rights recognised by the Constitution, he said. In such a situation, TIB is calling for the immediate repeal of the restrictive digital security law on the occasion of World Free Press Day.
Due to non-prosecution of incidents of attacks on media workers and the influence of invisible forces including the weapon of digital security law, a kind of intimidation situation has been created in the general workplace of journalists and TIB believes that the media is now caught in the trap of self-censorship, the statement read.
Most of the journalists are playing a courageous role in ensuring objective information and creating public awareness for the people of the country ignoring the risk of their lives and cases.
TIB calls upon the government, media owners and related parties to ensure that the media workers can continue this courageous role in building a corruption-free and well-governed country.
