The Editors’ Council has demanded several clauses of the Digital Security Act to be reformed. On Monday (15 Oct), a human chain organised in front of the Press Club, Mahfuz Anam, general secretary of Editors’ Council and editor of The Daily Star, presented a seven points demand.

In a written statement, Anam, said: “We have been opposing several sections of the act before it had been passed and feel that this law is incongruous to free and independent journalism.”

We are not against the Digital Security Act but want it to be amended at the next parliamentary session to ensure freedom of the media, the statement added.

The seven demands of the council are:

1. To safeguard freedom of speech, clauses 8, 21, 25, 28, 29, 31, 32, 43 and 53 must be amended.

2. These changes need to be carried out at the last session of the current parliament.

3. In allowing the police to search a media organisation they (police) cannot be given the permission to shut down the computer system and will only be permitted to stop publication of something after rationally explaining the decision to the editor.

4. To stop the computer system of a media house or to impound computers, a prior court order will be required.

5. To bring any journalist to court for any transgression related to their profession, a court summon has to be issued (which exists at the moment).

6. Whether a case can be lodged by a professional journalist or not should be first investigated by the Press Council and

7. The Right to Information Act passed by this government must be given precedence over Digital Security Act.

At the human chain, noted editors, Motiur Rahman of Prothom Alo, Nurul Kabir of New Age, Motiur Rahman Chowdhury of Manabzamin, Imdadul Haq Milon of Kaler Kantho, Noyeem Nizam of Bangladesh Pratidin, Dhaka Tribune editor, Zafar Sobhan, Independent Editor, M. Shamsur Rahman and others were present.