Interim government must restore freedom of expression, repeal Cyber Security Act: Amnesty International
Published :
Updated :
For all latest news, follow The Financial Express Google News channel.
Interim Government must restore freedom of expression in Bangladesh and repeal the Cyber Security Act, said Amnesty International on Thursday.
The Cyber Security Act (CSA) 2023 is a continuation of successive repressive legislations in Bangladesh that have repeatedly facilitated the state’s crackdown on civic space and human rights, including during the student-led quota-reform protests, said Amnesty International in a new briefing.
The interim government must undo this long-standing legacy of quashing dissent by repealing laws such as the CSA which threaten and undermine the rights to freedom of expression, liberty and privacy in Bangladesh, it said in a statement.
Taqbir Huda, Regional Researcher for South Asia at Amnesty International said “The recent deadly crackdown on the student protests in Bangladesh has taken place against a wider backdrop of increasing intolerance and suppression of dissent in the country.”
“The interim government must undo this long-standing legacy of quashing dissent by repealing laws such as the Cyber Security Act which threaten and undermine the rights to freedom of expression, liberty and privacy in Bangladesh,” said Taqbir Huda.
Findings also suggest a wider crackdown by the authorities on civic space through a range of repressive powers and measures.
These include police powers to arrest and search individuals without warrants, excessive use of pretrial detention through refusal of bail and arbitrary removal of online content. These practices were further rolled out to quell the student-led quota-reform protests, before it led to the resignation of the former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
Amnesty International’s analysis found that the Cyber Security Act retains 58 of the 62 provisions of the DSA: 28 provisions are retained verbatim while 25 provisions are retained with minor changes (such as alterations to terminology or sentencing).
The Cyber Security Act retains sweeping powers of authorities to search, arrest and detain individuals and seize their devices without providing adequate safeguards on the usage and storage of data in them.