Cyber Tribunal scraps case against journalist Naem Nizam, 2 others
Cyber Tribunal Judge Md Saidur Rahman issued the order this noon following a hearing, ordering their acquittal.
The Dhaka Cyber Tribunal has ordered the scrapping of a Digital Security Act case filed against former Bangladesh Pratidin editor Naem Nizam and two others.
Cyber Tribunal Judge Md Saidur Rahman issued the order this noon (14 January) following a hearing, ordering their acquittal.
The bench assistant of the tribunal, Md Jewel Mia, said the judge dismissed the case as the charges brought under the Digital Security Act are no longer covered under the Cyber Protection Ordinance.
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The two other accused were Bangladesh Pratidin publisher Moynal Hossain Chowdhury and Syed Borhan Kabir, editor-in-chief of Bangla Insider.
Earlier, the counsel for Moynal Hossain Chowdhury, Advocate Enamul Haque, filed a petition seeking dismissal of the case.
In the petition, the defence argued that the sections invoked against the accused, Sections 25, 29 and 35 of the Digital Security Act, 2018, were repealed through a gazette notification issued on 22 October 2025 under Section 50(4)(a) of the Cyber Protection Ordinance, 2025.
The ordinance explicitly states that no cases pending under those sections of the Digital Security Act can continue, making acquittal mandatory, the petition said.
The case was filed on 15 February 2022 by Barrister M Sarwar Hossain against Naem Nizam and six others.
On the same day, the court directed the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of the police to probe the allegations and submit a report.
Other accused included the admin, narrator, video producer and technician of the website Viral Pratidin.
On 20 November 2024, CID Sub-Inspector Tarikul Islam submitted an investigation report accusing three individuals, stating that the allegations against them were substantiated.
According to the case statement, a report titled "Conspiracy lawsuit again by the Bichchu Shamshu syndicate using Nusrat" was published by Bangladesh Pratidin on 7 September 2021 and later uploaded online.
The report claimed that Barrister M Sarwar Hossain was Nusrat's lawyer and alleged his involvement in the 21 August grenade attack, describing him as a key figure in spreading anti-state propaganda and conspiracies, and stating that multiple cases of subversive activities were pending against him.
The article also referred to alleged conspiracies surrounding the Mosarat Jahan Munia murder.
The case further alleged that the accused spread similar claims on Facebook, portraying Barrister Sarwar as a mastermind behind the 21 August grenade attack.
Sarwar stated in the case that he was not Nusrat's lawyer, but had only appeared during the hearing of a petition of no confidence in her case.
He also cited a report titled "Who is this Sarwar" published in Bangla Insider on 8 September that year, and alleged that defamatory and malicious content about him was being deliberately circulated on the Facebook page Viral Pratidin.
