Bangladesh: ‘Bloggers’ to be charged under ICT Act
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| Bangladesh police on Tuesday said legal measures under the Information and Communications Technology Act would be taken against the three ‘bloggers’ arrested over alleged inflammatory postings on the internet on sensitive religious issues. |
They will be charged for cybercrimes (ICT Act-2006), Deputy Commissioner (DC) Molla Nazrul Islam told a press briefing at the Detective Branch of Police headquarters at the capital’s Minto Road.
According to Article 57; sub-sections (1) and (2) of the Act, any inflammatory write-ups on sensitive religious issues can be considered as a crime and those responsible can be slapped with a 10-year imprisonment and a fine of Taka 10 million, he said.
DB police late on Monday night arrested three ‘bloggers’ from the capital’s Indira Road, Palashi and Monipuri Parha areas. One desktop computer, one laptop, two internet modems and an external hard disk were also seized from them.
Of the arrested, Shuvo is an MA student in Dhaka University’s Bangla Department. His friends and classmates alleged that he was ‘picked up’ from in front of his dormitory gate at around 10:30 pm on Monday night.
And Biplob and Rasel are former DU students.
DC Molla Nazrul Islam said, “During interrogation they said they do not believe in any religion. They believe in naturalism.”
“These three write defamatory posts in Facebook, Somewhere in Blog, Nagorik Blog, Amar Blog and Istishon Blog using different names. We found ‘evidence’ of those from their computer, laptop and hard disk,” he said.
Asked whether their arrest was obstructing the freedom of expression, Islam said, “Everybody enjoys the freedom of speech. But hurting anyone’s faith is not freedom of speech.”
However, police did not allow reporters to speak to the arrestees during the briefing.
When asked if the bloggers were arrested in advance of Hifazat-e-Islam’s long march on Apr 6, police officer Nazrul said, “We will make arrests whenever our monitoring finds offences.”
Deputy Commissioner of DB’s north unit Nazrul said, a team headed by Additional Deputy Commissioner Moshur Rahman, Mohammad Shahidullah, Manosh Kumar Poddar conducted the raids at Farmagate’s Indira Road and Monipuripara at around 10pm on Monday to arrest Biplob and Rasel.
The information provided by the two led to the arrest of Subrata Shuvro from the capital's Palashi intersection at 3am.
The government on Mar 13 had formed a committee to identify and take actions against those who make offensive statements against Islam and its Prophet Hazrat Muhammad (PBUH). The committee also opened an email account to receive allegations over such offensive statements.
According to Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC), there are at least 30 million internet users and 3.2 million Facebook users in Bangladesh.
According to Article 57; sub-sections (1) and (2) of the Act, any inflammatory write-ups on sensitive religious issues can be considered as a crime and those responsible can be slapped with a 10-year imprisonment and a fine of Taka 10 million, he said.
DB police late on Monday night arrested three ‘bloggers’ from the capital’s Indira Road, Palashi and Monipuri Parha areas. One desktop computer, one laptop, two internet modems and an external hard disk were also seized from them.
Of the arrested, Shuvo is an MA student in Dhaka University’s Bangla Department. His friends and classmates alleged that he was ‘picked up’ from in front of his dormitory gate at around 10:30 pm on Monday night.
And Biplob and Rasel are former DU students.
DC Molla Nazrul Islam said, “During interrogation they said they do not believe in any religion. They believe in naturalism.”
“These three write defamatory posts in Facebook, Somewhere in Blog, Nagorik Blog, Amar Blog and Istishon Blog using different names. We found ‘evidence’ of those from their computer, laptop and hard disk,” he said.
Asked whether their arrest was obstructing the freedom of expression, Islam said, “Everybody enjoys the freedom of speech. But hurting anyone’s faith is not freedom of speech.”
However, police did not allow reporters to speak to the arrestees during the briefing.
When asked if the bloggers were arrested in advance of Hifazat-e-Islam’s long march on Apr 6, police officer Nazrul said, “We will make arrests whenever our monitoring finds offences.”
Deputy Commissioner of DB’s north unit Nazrul said, a team headed by Additional Deputy Commissioner Moshur Rahman, Mohammad Shahidullah, Manosh Kumar Poddar conducted the raids at Farmagate’s Indira Road and Monipuripara at around 10pm on Monday to arrest Biplob and Rasel.
The information provided by the two led to the arrest of Subrata Shuvro from the capital's Palashi intersection at 3am.
The government on Mar 13 had formed a committee to identify and take actions against those who make offensive statements against Islam and its Prophet Hazrat Muhammad (PBUH). The committee also opened an email account to receive allegations over such offensive statements.
According to Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC), there are at least 30 million internet users and 3.2 million Facebook users in Bangladesh.
Courtesy: BDNews24.com
