After this, the statements of the ministers came one by one. Even Prothom Alo’s editor Matiur Rahman and its reporter Samsuzzaman have been prosecuted in the lawsuits. All these incidents have been carried out on the charge of tarnishing the image.
The application of the Digital Security Act to punish for the alleged offense of defamation by using criminal law is entirely a reflection of medieval law and jurisprudence.
In any democratic country of the world, there is no crime called ‘tarnishing the image’. Such charges are used to persecute citizens in countries with grossly undemocratic and highly authoritarian governments, including Afghanistan, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and Rwanda.