Hundreds of Bangladeshi journalists took to the streets Thursday to protest against a new digital security bill that campaigners say would damage media freedom in the country.
The Digital Security Act 2018 approved by the cabinet this week would mean a journalist could be convicted of espionage for entering a government office and gathering information secretly using an electronic device, an offence that would carry a 14-year jail sentence. It also provides for a life sentence for spreading “negative propaganda” about the country’s war of independence or its founding leader Sheikh Mujibur Rahman using a digital device. Media rights groups including the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) have already condemned the bill, which parliament has yet to vote on….read more