DHAKA, 28 July 2021, (TON): Information and Broadcasting Minister Hasan Mahmud rejected Amnesty International's statement over the Digital Security Act saying the statement of the human rights organisation is motivated.

Talking to reporters at his residence in the capital, the minister also said “Amnesty International has lost its acceptability.”

Hassan said "Amnesty International has been issuing statements against Bangladesh and its government one after another.”

Amnesty International on Sunday in a statement said it has found a concerning pattern in which the Bangladeshi authorities are weaponising sections 25, 29 and 31 of the Digital Security Act to target and harass critical voices.

It said in a statement on its website “Amnesty International has found 134 of those cases that clearly specified the sections under the DSA. Eighty percent of those cases (or 107 out of 134) were filed under both sections 25 and 29 of the DSA.”

Amnesty International called on the Bangladeshi authorities to ensure that defamation was treated as a matter for civil litigation, not criminal, the statement said.

Hasan Mahmud said that Amnesty International didn't issue any statement when hundreds of people were killed by petrol bombs in Bangladesh. They had also issued statements in favour of war criminals.