The United Nations calls for immediate suspension of the Digital Security Act

United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk made this call in a statement on Friday (March 31).

Concerned about the misuse of the Digital Security Act, Volker Turk said the law is being used to arrest, harass, intimidate and silence online criticism of journalists and human rights activists in Bangladesh. So I once again call upon the authorities to impose an immediate moratorium on the use of this law.

At the same time, Volker Türk called for a comprehensive reform of the provisions of this law to be in line with international human rights law.

The statement also mentioned that more than 2,000 cases have been filed under this law, including Prothom Alo journalist Shamsuzzaman Shams, editor Matiur Rahman and a photographer.

Volker Turk also said that the Bangladesh government had promised to put safeguards in place to stop the misuse of this law. But this promise is not enough as arrests continue. So the law needs to be amended accordingly.

Apart from this, the High Commissioner also called for the formation of an independent judicial panel to review all cases on a case-by-case basis with the aim of releasing the accused in this act.