DSA cases kept in limbo

Friday, October 1, marked three years since the Digital Security Act (DSA) came into force in Bangladesh. From its very inception, we have warned against the indiscriminate use of this draconian law which, instead of protecting online spaces and making them safer, has been used to clamp down on freedom of speech and target independent journalism. Recent research from the Centre for Governance Studies (CGS) now verifies that our claims of the DSA being used as a tool to harass and silence certain individuals are not unjustified.

According to the think tank, which tracked details of 668 out of more than 1,500 cases filed under the Act in the last 20 months or so, only two cases have been disposed of so far. However, scores of DSA cases against journalists, teachers, politicians, students and others remain pending.

CGS data revealed that from 1,543 individuals accused, charges were pressed against only 1.17 percent, despite the fact that the law stipulates an investigation report must be submitted within 60 days of filing the case. This wanton disregard of the existing provisions of the law, which has led to the unlawful detainment without trial of those accused under the DSA, is a serious breach of the fundamental rights that a Bangladeshi citizen is accorded under the country's Constitution. We cannot forget that writer Mushtaq Ahmed was locked up under the DSA for over nine months and denied bail six times before he died—receiving the worst punishment even before being given a trial. Yet, there has been no serious inquiry into why it took nine months to complete the investigation.

We are also gravely concerned to note that 13 children (under the age of 18) have been prosecuted under the DSA, including a ninth-grader who was sent to a juvenile correction centre for allegedly insulting the prime minister on Facebook. But an overwhelming majority of these cases are not filed by aggrieved persons—in 507 of the 577 cases logged by CGS, those filing the cases were not the direct victims of the incidents. Only 76 cases were filed by law enforcement; 85 percent of the accusers were ruling party activists. The sheer folly of being allowed to lodge a DSA case against just about anyone, without even being affected by their alleged "crime", should not be lost on anyone, especially when it leads to situations like that of farmer Abu Zaman, who despite not even owning a smartphone or having internet access, was on the run in March this year after being accused under the DSA.

This reckless use of the controversial law has shrunk civic spaces and created a culture of fear in the country. We call upon the government to immediately remove this threat to freedom of expression and democracy, and rescind the DSA before more innocent citizens fall victim to it.