Webinar on Digital Security Act held

The Centre for Governance Studies (CGS) hosted a webinar on the Digital Security Act 2018 titled "Digital Security Act 2018: What to Do?" on April 17, 2023. The webinar was given by the Executive Director of CGS, Zillur Rahman. The panel of discussants includes Dr. Ali Riaz, Distinguished Professor of Political Science at Illinois State University, USA, and a member of the advisory board of the Centre for Governance Studies (CGS); Brig. General (retired) M. Sakhawat Hossain, former Election Commissioner of Bangladesh; Dr. Iftekharuzzaman, Executive Director, Transparency International Bangladesh; Didarul Islam Bhuiyan, Economic Coordinator, State Reformation Movement, and member of the DSA Victim Network.

Zillur Rahman, as moderator of the webinar,brought up the case of Khadijatul Kubra, a student of Jagannath University, who was only 17 years old when the case was filed. Two cases had been filed against her in New Market and Kalabagan Thana.

He also added that the Law Minister had promised to amend this Act and pledged to give protection to the journalists. But in reality, journalists are victims of this act, which is in full swing. Another problem pointed out by him was the fact that some of the journalists are directly or indirectly supporting the law, which is very unfortunate.

He also said the Law Minister promised the ICT Cell would oversee the misuse of these cases, but no promise was kept. While moderating, Zillur Rahman posed a vital question: "The people of Bangladesh and development partners, foreign delegations, and ambassadors are also insisting on free and fair elections, but is it possible with the existence of a repressive law like the DSA?"

News Courtesy:

https://dailyasianage.com/news/305031/webinar-on-digital-security-act-held