The Coalition for Human Rights & Democracy in Bangladesh (CHRD Bangladesh) joins the United Nations in its recent demand to amend Bangladesh’s Digital Security Act (DSA). Volker Turk, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, made the demand on March 7, 2023, further regretting the continuation of “criminal sentences” under the DSA against freedom of expression. He also expressed his concerns about the increasing incidence of political violence, arbitrary arrests of political activists, harassment of human rights defenders and media personnel in the buildup to the elections this year.
The CHRD Bangladesh, in fact, believes the draconian DSA is redundant. It has become highly abusive. It was designed to prevent any criticism of the fascist activities of the government, as well as members of the ruling family of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who is illegally holding on to power through successive election frauds since 2009.
In an article “Digital Security Act: The Tool of Abuse in Bangladesh”, writer and activist Ahmad Shihab asserted that the “DSA allows absolute power with impunity to investigate anyone or anything under its vague but omni-powerful purview.”(Ref: https://southasiajournal.net/digital-security-act-the-tool-of-abuse-in-bangladesh/ and https://aequitasreview.org/the-digital-security-act-the-tool-of-abuse-in-bangladesh-by-ahmad-shihab/)“.
The Digital Security Act is a tool ripe for abuse and a clear violation of the country’s obligations under international law to protect free speech,” said Brad Adams of Human Rights Watch. The UN’s Human Rights Committee on International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) openly denounced the DSA saying that penalizing the expression of opinions… is contrary to the country’s obligation to the ICCPR. Amnesty International pointed out that the DSA criminalized almost all forms of freedom of expression.
The notorious Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) and fearsome police are used by the fascist regime as tools to strictly implement the provisions of the DSA. The United States had imposed sanctions on the RAB and its top officials in December 2021 for serious violations of human rights that included extrajudicial killings, abductions, enforced disappearance, arrests and torture. Yet, the crimes continue unabated in Bangladesh under the fascist administration of Sheikh Hasina, backed by its sponsor, India.