Editors’ Council demands withdrawal of lawsuits against journalists amid coronavirus crisis

The Sampadak Parishad or Editors’ Council has expressed deep concern over the recent spate of lawsuits against journalists, a cartoonist and a writer and the arrest of several of them under the Digital Security Act (DSA) on flimsy and unsubstantiated grounds.

No care is being shown to the merit of complaints before making arrests, it said in a statement issued on Thursday.

The council bemoaned how it was sufficient to put journalists behind bars over reasons such as ‘tarnishing the image,’ ‘spreading rumours,’ or ‘criticising the government’.

“Any complaint under DSA almost automatically leads to arrests. Recently, photojournalist Kajol was handcuffed while being produced in court. Simple criticism of lawmakers, district administrations and people in power are behind most of the recent cases,” the statement read.

The council lauded legislators who traditionally stood for ‘free media’, ‘freedom of thought’ and ‘critical thinking’, but deplored ‘a few of them’ who are now ‘a part of the current DSA-led onslaught against the media’.

It added: “Clear preference of filing cases under DSA instead of existing defamation laws indicates a desire to intimidate and harass journalists rather than seek justice.

“It is the inherent duty of the media to expose corruption and irregularities and point out the failures of the administration. This is all the more necessary when thousands of crores of taka are being spent by the government to fight pandemic and its disastrous consequences.”

The Council stated it had opposed the DSA from the very beginning, fearing that it would be used as a weapon to suppress media freedom, and that “fear is now a nightmare-reality for the mass media”.

It considers the recent cases and arrest of journalists as clear threats to freedom of press and freedom of expression.

It demanded immediate release of all journalists and withdrawal of all cases against them, condemning the frequent and indiscriminate use of DSA against the media and common citizens.

The Editors' Council also asked that the Digital Security Act be repealed altogether.