Editors' Council demands immediate overview of DSA
The Editors' Council on Saturday demanded an instantaneous overview of the Digital Reliability Act (DSA) good law minister's statement.
"We demand that steps be studied immediately to help make the affirmation of regulations minister legally effective," the council said, studies UNB.
During a recent interview with BBC, Regulation Minister Anisul Haque stated the DSA will be reviewed. The minister also explained, "No arrest will be made under the DSA without an investigation."
"The journalists and people expressing free thoughts are appearing regularly harassed and tortured as a result of DSA," the council said in a statement.
Although the physically ill cartoonist Kishore got bail after 10 weeks of incarceration and premiered from jail in the same case, he even now must continue with the case, the council said.
"Journalist Kajol went missing and had to stay behind bars for a long period just for sharing articles on social mass media. Although he was granted bail, the circumstance against a mentally, financially and the physically-afflicted person is certainly ongoing," the assertion read.
The council remarked that demands had been built earlier to scrap certain parts of the act even before it had been passed into legislation. "In September 2018, we explained our positions about the objectionable sections of the DSA and demanded cancellation of these sections. If our requirements were considered, we'd not have to handle the situation that we are in now."
"We brought up our concern about sections 8, 21, 25, 28, 29, 31, 32, 43, and 53 of the DSA," the council said.
The DSA is ambiguous and the language of the law may easily be misinterpreted and used against the journalists, the council said.
The statement also noted the proliferation of non-bailable offences in the act, with 14 such offences listed out of 20. This all has created an atmosphere of dread in which the typical practice of journalism is becoming laden with risk.
"We demand the immediate release of most those arrested and thrown behind bars beneath the DSA and the withdrawal of all cases," the declaration said.
The council, nevertheless, said a law is needed to cover criminal activity in the digital space, but that should not be allowed to curtail freedom of expression, saying, "Those that commit criminal acts on digital platforms should be brought to justice, but the law should not be applied to suppress the media and free-spirited writers."
