IN the wake of the arrests of two university teachers and two students, prominent voices against the Digital Security Act (DSA) decried the law as a curb on free speech. The teachers and students were arrested for updating Facebook statuses criticising the health sector, following the death of former health minister Mohammed Nasim. So far 9 cases have been filed in total under DSA following the decease of the health minister.
Lawyers said a law’s hidden agenda could be seen from what sections of the law are being used the most to prosecute people. The DSA has many sections pertaining to hacking, identity fraud, etc. but we never see any cases being lodged under those sections. Most of the cases filed under this law pertain to the sections that hamper free speech. The draconian law, when crafted and passed were opposed by journalist, teachers, artists and opposition politicians, but the government assured it would not use for suffocating dissent. This law criminalises hurting the spirit of the Liberation War. But the person in charge of deciding whether the spirit of the Liberation War has been hurt in any way is a police sub-inspector. How is a sub-inspector’s judgment enough to decide whether a constitutional violation has been made or not.
Worried citizens said of the 20 provisions being presented here, 14 are non-bailable. The minimum punishment under this black law is one year’s imprisonment, while the maximum is a lifetime. According to the road accident law, drivers killing people have a maximum punishment of five years, whereas a journalist can be put inside for life sentence. Even, arrests don’t require a warrant either. If the police think a crime is happening or about to happen, they can arrest without a warrant.
The government should worry protecting itself against coronavirus.
