Asif Nazrul, law adviser to the interim government, said that although numerous false accusations have been made against the government’s advisers—particularly on social media—no legal action has been taken in response.
He made the remarks on Thursday, during a roundtable discussion held at the Cirdap auditorium in the capital. The event, titled “Freedom of the Media: A Legal Framework for Journalists’ Protection and Complaint Resolution”, was organized by the Centre for Governance Studies.
“All cases under the Digital Security Act have been withdrawn. Despite the falsehoods spread about us on social media, none of us advisers has filed a case. We have not even protested—we left it to the people of the country,” he said.
Addressing the issue of cases against journalists, Adviser Asif Nazrul said: “A total of 266 journalists have been sued, but only 15 have been arrested. The cases were filed for insider crimes or for amendments.”
He added: “These were not initiated by the government—they were filed by ordinary citizens. However, we have made it clear that no arrests should be made unless there is substantial evidence.”
He cautioned that if some people see lawsuits as a business opportunity, and if lawyers and politicians get involved while the police act irresponsibly, it will be difficult to stop such practices.
He acknowledged that false cases are being filed against people from all walks of life, and although the number of cases against journalists is regrettable, it is not entirely unexpected in the current context.
When asked about the bail of two journalists from Ekattor TV, Asif Nazrul said: “I understand there are objections regarding the arrests. As far as I know, the charges against them were not filed for journalism.”
He added: “Whether they deserve bail is a valid question, but the case itself was filed by members of the public, and we have no role in that.”
Other participants at the discussion included Dr Badiul Alam Majumdar, chair of the Electoral Reform Commission; Shafiqul Alam, Press Secretary to the Chief Adviser; Dr Shahidul Alam, founder of Drik Picture Library; Mojibur Rahman Monju, chairman of the AB Party; Ruhin Hossain Prince, general secretary of the Communist Party of Bangladesh (CPB); Sohrab Hasan, joint editor of Prothom Alo, and others.
