Citizens including University teachers, political leaders, and rights activists in a statement issued on Friday demanded withdrawal of the cases filed against activists Rakhal Raha, Nahid Hasan Knowledge, and Sohel Hasan Ghalib under the Cyber Security Act.
The statement signed by a total of 119 citizens, also called for repeal of the Cyber Security Act, which they described as an exploitative and oppressive tool of the previous authoritarian regime.
Among the signatories were economist and professor Anu Muhammad, poet Kafil Ahmed, lawyer and Rastra Sangskar Andolan convener Hasnat Qayyum, rights activists Sara Hossain and Jyotirmoy Barua, Dhaka University teachers Kazi Maruful Islam, Samina Lutfa, and Mosahida Sultana, Jahangirnagar University teachers Syed Nizar and Suman Sajjad, Rajshahi University teacher Al Mamun, and Democratic Revolutionary Party general secretary Mosherefa Mishu.
The statement said that the people of Bangladesh had long fought for democracy, freedom of speech, freedom of expression, and the coexistence of diverse opinions and cultures.
It alleged that the previous Awami League government curtailed civil rights and established an authoritarian regime that evolved into fascism.
Although Awami League鈥檚 rule ended following the July mass uprising last year, fascism persisted within state structures, the statement said.
The statement criticised the Cyber Security Act, which replaced the Digital Security Act, arguing that it continues the oppressive legal framework of the past.
It further claimed that the retention of such laws facilitated legal oppression and group-based violence against freedom-seeking citizens.
On March 3, a case was filed against writer and thinker Rakhal Raha and writer and organiser Nahid Hasan Knowledge under the Cyber Security Act, accusing them of 鈥榟urting religious sentiments鈥�. The case was lodged by Mohammad Sajjad Hossain with the Dhaka Cyber Tribunal over alleged derogatory comments about Islam. Poet Sohel Hasan Ghalib has also been arrested and imprisoned under the same law.
The signatories strongly condemned these cases and demanded their immediate withdrawal, along with the complete abolition of the repressive Cyber Security Act.
