Dhaka: Editors’ Council has demanded the release of journalists, cartoonists and writers arrested in the Digital Security Act(DSA) case. At the same time, the country's Editors' organization has demanded the repeal of this law.
The statement said, "The Editors’ Council has been opposed to the Digital Security Act(DSA) from the very beginning, fearing that it could be used as a weapon to suppress freedom of the press. That fear has now become a nightmare for the media. ”
The demand was made in a statement signed by Mahfuz Anam, president of the Editors’ Council and Editor of the Daily Star and Naeem Nizam, general secretary of the Editors’ Council and Editor of Bangladesh Pratidin on Thursday (May 7) the demands were made.
The Council said in a statement, "We are deeply concerned about the recent arrests of journalists, cartoonists and writers under the Digital Security Act. There is no talk about the rationale of the allegations before the arrest. ”
The statement said, "Traditionally the MPs have always stood by free media, free thought and criticism." It is sad but true, few of them are now in favor of enforcing digital security laws against the media. The Digital Security Act, instead of the existing defamation suit, shows a clear interest in the case, not to get justice, but to intimidate and harass journalists. ”
The Council thinks, “The innate responsibility of the media is to expose corruption, irregularities and to point out the mistakes of the administration. And while the government is spending thousands of crores of money to deal with the pandemic and post-pandemic disasters, this responsibility becomes even more urgent. ”
The Editors’ Council said, "We believe that the recent arrests of journalists in these cases are a clear threat to the freedom of the press and expression. We demand the immediate release of all journalists and the withdrawal of all charges against them.”