White House concerned about Digital Security Act: US State Department

The US is very concerned about the Digital Security Law of Bangladesh. The White House also said that it is not acceptable to interfere with the freedom of expression of every person. Freedom of expression is an essential element of the press and democracy. This is important especially when election is around the corner.  In the regular briefing of the US State Department on Thursday night. Vedant Patel, the interim spokesperson of the US State Department, said these things in response to a journalist's question about arresting journalists and filing cases under the digital law in Bangladesh.

In response to a question from a journalist regarding the recent filing of a case against several journalists including Prothom Alo journalist, Vedant Patel said, "No media member should be threatened, harassed, physically assaulted or arrested for doing their work."

The international organization Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has called on the Bangladesh government to stop all retaliatory investigations against journalists. At the same time, the organization called upon CPJ journalists to allow them to do their professional work.

UK-based International Human Rights Organization Article 19 has expressed deep concern over the case and detention of Prothom Alo journalist Shamsuzzaman under the Digital Security Act. In a statement on Friday, Farukh Faisal, the organization's regional director for South Asia, said that there is no specific law to protect journalists in Bangladesh, which is very unfortunate.