DSA was misused in Sultana’s case: Law Minister

Law Minister Anisul Huq on Thursday said that the Digital Security Act was misused in the case of Naogaon’s Jasmine Sultana, who died in Rab custody on March 24.

“I want to make it clear that when the woman was detained from Naogaon; there was no case against her under the Digital Security Act. The case was filed after a day later. So, in this case the Digital Security Act was misused,” the minister said.

The minister made these remarks while speaking with reporters after a meeting with Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan on the premises of the Law Ministry.

But, my point is that the woman wasn’t caught under the Digital Security Act, he said.

Digital Security Act is being misused in one or two cases, said the minister, adding, “Wherever we see that this law is being misused, we are taking steps.”

Sultana, 38, an office assistant of Naogaon Municipality-Chandipur Union Land Office, was picked up by a RAB-5 patrol team on March 22.

Later she was taken to Naogaon Sadar Hospital and then to Rajshahi Medical College Hospital, where she died on March 24, according to hospital authorities.

Regarding the arrest of Prothom Alo reporter Shamsuzzaman Shams the Law Minister said, “The cases which were filed or are being filed are not against journalists, but against injustice. I admit that you are fearless journalists. If you publish the truth to people, the government will never obstruct”, he said.

Earlier, On March 29, Criminal Investigation Department (CID) men in plainclothes picked up Shams from his residence in Ambagan area, adjacent to Jahangirnagar University, around 4:30 am.

The same day, a Jubo League leader filed a case under the Digital Security Act against Shams, accusing him of publishing a "false and fabricated report" in the daily Prothom Alo.

On Thursday, he was sent to jail by a Dhaka court.