Case against Sylhet journos protested

Around a hundred people from all walks of life stood for freedom of press and protested the misuse of the controversial Digital Security Act at a human chain in Sylhet city yesterday afternoon.

The human chain was organised by Sankhubdha Nagorik Andolon in front of Sylhet Central Shaheed Minar at Chowhatta area in the city.

They demanded withdraw of all cases filed against journalists under the controversial law and urged government to ensure press freedom by scrapping the controversial law.

They also protested the case filed against Daily Ekattorer Kotha's Editor Chowdhury Mumtaz Ahmed and reporters.

At the human chain, its organiser Abdul Karim Kim said, "It has been 15 days of a case being filed against a reputed journalist Chowdhury Mumtaz Ahmed and six others. We are not only protesting the case but also the law under which the case was filed."

"The law is being misused to interfere with freedom of the press in all possible ways. Freedom of press is vital for democracy and we demand that the government scraps the law or stops misusing it, particularly against journalists," he said.

At the human chain, Sylhet Zilla Press Club President Al Azad, Gonojagonon Mancha Sylhet's spokesperson Debasish Debu and others spoke.

On December 4, a Sylhet city councillor sued 18 people, including the editor of local Daily Ekattorer Kotha, its publisher and reporters, under the controversial Digital Security Act for publishing a "fake report" and sharing it on social media.  The newspaper published a report on the councillor's illegal activities, including attempting to grab the land of a government primary school, and extorting money from landlords and land owners in his area.