Journalist arrested in Bangladesh for reporting on food prices under controversial digital law.
A journalist from a leading newspaper in Bangladesh has been charged with producing "false news" under the Digital Security Act after an article about high food prices went viral. The article included quotes from ordinary people talking about their lives on the occasion of Bangladesh's independence day. The Digital Security Act has been widely used by the government to muzzle journalists and critics, with nearly 3,000 people charged since it was enacted in 2018, including about 280 journalists. This has stoked concerns that Bangladesh is becoming increasingly authoritarian under prime minister Sheikh Hasina.