Bangladesh police have charged 11 people and arrested two others for allegedly spreading rumours over the coronavirus pandemic on social media, according to the officials on Wednesday.
The charges were made under the controversial Digital Security Act that activists say was being used to create a “climate of fear” and suppress the public discontent about the Bangladesh government’s handling of the pandemic that has infected 11,719 people and killed 186 others so far.
Monirul Islam, the officer-in-charge of Ramna police station in Dhaka told media, “They were posting on Facebook about our Father of Nation, liberation war and spreading rumours over coronavirus pandemic”,
They had been damaging the image of the country and the government and were creating confusion among the people over the pandemic”, Islam further added.
Earlier on Tuesday, he said security forces arrested cartoonist Ahmed Kabir Kishore and writer Mushtaq Ahmed.
Kishore introduced himself as a political cartoonist in his Facebook account “Ami Kishore”, and Mushtaq earned his fame for running a crocodile farm before turning as a writer.
On Monday, the government has allowed shopping malls to reopen from May 10 amid the COVID-19 pandemic and also laid down a series of conditions for the businesses to operate ahead of Eid-ul-Fitr.
Bangladesh has already extended the nationwide lockdown to May 16 amid a surge in the confirmed coronavirus cases and deaths.
The country approved the controversial Digital Security Act in September 2018, which penalizes “negative propaganda” against Bangladesh’s liberation war or late president Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the father of prime minister Sheikh Hasina.
In March, the country announced a stimulus package of 50 billion taka ($5.9 million) to help export-oriented industries to counter the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic at home and abroad.
(With inputs from agency)