BFUJ, DUJ express concern over misuse of DSA
02 April 2023
Staff Reporter :
Bangladesh Federal Journalists Union (BFUJ), and Dhaka Journalists Union (DUJ) have expressed their deep concern over the recent arrests of journalists in cases filed under the Digital Security Act (DSA) misusing of the law.
At the same time, they also criticized for irresponsible and unprofessional journalism of the daily Prothom Alo.
Apart from it, BFUJ and DUJ also termed a joint statement issued by the diplomats of 12 countries as unwarranted.
In a joint statement on behalf of the two organisations on Saturday, BFUJ president Omar Faruq and General Secretary Deep Azad, and DUJ president Sohel Haider Chowdhury and General Secretary Aktar Hossain expressed their concern.The misuse of the law should be stopped until these measures are taken and both the BFUJ and DUJ also raised concern that the anxious situation created by using the Digital Security Act regarding this incident could have been avoided, the statement read.
The leaders reiterated their call for incorporating a provision in the Digital Security Act under which any complaint raised against a journalist should be sent to the Press Council to decide its 'prima facie'.
"Journalist society considers the intervention of foreign diplomats in this issue as an interference on the independence and sovereignty of the country," read the statement.
"If someone commits a crime or a mistake, there is a way to solve it according to the prevailing laws of the country. But the way foreign diplomats are meddling with the country's internal affairs is a cause of concern," it said.
"The photo card circulated by Prothom Alo online on 26 March, our great Independence Day, with a child's picture and a different person's statement, is a great example of professional failure on the part of the newspaper's editor and newsroom personnel. The photo card was quickly withdrawn, but public confusion was already created. There is good reason to believe that the quote of the person of different identity with the picture of the child was intentionally used," reads the statement.
It stated that, "Giving the child financial support from the journalist and using him as journalistic material is also not acceptable from the point of view of professional journalism."
