Inu rules out revoking Section 57 of ICT Act which critics say is abused

Information Minister Hasanul Haq Inu has dismissed calls to repeal the Section 57 of the ICT Act, which critics say provides the scope to abuse the law.

“There is no question to cancel that Section of the law,” Inu told a press conference on Tuesday.

Rights activists claim this particular section of the Act was ‘misused’ in the arrest of journalist Probir Sikdar.

Uttaradhikar Ekattur News and Dainik Bangla Ekattur publisher and editor Sikdar in a recent post on a social networking site expressed concern over his life.

For the threat to his life he blamed, among others, LGRD and Cooperatives Minister Khandker Mosharraf Hossain.

A government lawyer in Faridpur filed a case under the ICT Act against Sikdar, accusing him of libel against the minister.

The journalist was sent to three-day police remand for interrogation after his arrest on Sunday.

On Monday, Ganajagaran Mancha activists demonstrated demanding his release. They also demanded scrapping Section 57.

Mancha spokesperson Imran H Sarker alleged the Section was contradictory to the freedom of expression guaranteed by the Constitution.

Ain o Salish Kendra (ASK), Online Journalist Association of Bangladesh (OJAB) and several other organisations also condemned Sikdar’s arrest.

Section 57 of the law criminalises ‘publishing fake, obscene or defaming information in electronic form.’

Offence under this provision of the ICT Act is punishable by at least seven years in prison and 14 years imprisonment at the most. Fine can be as high as Tk 10 million.

The law was passed in 2006 and was amended twice in 2009 and 2013. In the last amendment, offence under the Section 57 was made non-bailable and the maximum penalty was extended to 14-year imprisonment.

Rights activists have been vocal against this legal provision, saying this effectively muzzles the freedom of speech and expression.

They started protesting against the Section again after the arrest of Sikdar.

Hasanul Huq Inu

At the press briefing, Minister Inu was bombarded with questions on the issue.

He described the arrest ‘unfortunate’, but said there was no scope to repeal the Section.

“The criticism of the Act is not reasonable. It is not contradictory to the Constitution and laws of Bangladesh.”

“I’ll say that those who are criticising it have not read the Penal Code properly. There are many non-bailable laws in it,” he added.

The minister said it would not be correct to draw a conclusion on whether media’s freedom was thwarted based on the arrest of an individual. 

He said Sikdar would appeal to the High Court for bail.

“A non-bailable law doesn’t mean that he will never get bail. He may be denied bail in one court and get it in another.”

Rights organisation Odhikar’s Adilur Rahman Khan Shuvro and other bloggers arrested under the ICT Act were released on bail, he pointed out.

“If the law is undemocratic and contradictory to the Constitution, then the victim will get redress in the High Court,” he said.

No one was arrested for ‘criticising or giving information on Facebook’, he claimed.

The minister also suggested all to ‘be careful’ about falling foul of the law, hurting religious sentiments and breaching privacy while enjoying the freedom of expression.