Gazette notification issued
The government has set up a special tribunal in Dhaka to deal with cyber crimes such as hacking, blackmailing, defamation and extortion online in a speedy manner.
‘The law ministry has issued a gazette notification on the establishment of the tribunal under the Information and Communications Technology Act 2006 in Dhaka to exclusively try online crimes in a speedy manner,’ a senior official concerned told New Age on Tuesday.
The government can, in keeping with the law, transfer any such cases filed earlier with other courts to the cyber tribunal, the official said.
The tribunal will start functioning soon after the appointment of a judge of the rank of district and sessions judge and the ministry has already taken initiatives to the effect, he added.
The copy of the gazette signed on January 28 was made available on Tuesday.
The tribunal has been set up in the capital with the whole country under its jurisdiction, according to the gazette singed by the law and justice division’s senior assistant secretary Md Mujibur Rahman.
The law ministry will now appoint a judge having the knowledge of ICT in consultation with the Supreme Court to chair the tribunal in the lower judiciary, according to officials.
The initiative to set up the tribunal came weeks after the UK-based Economist in early December 2012 said that it had in its possession 17-hour conversation on Skype and 230 e-mails exchanged between former International Crimes Tribunal 1 chairman Justice Md Nizamul Huq and Bangladeshi expatriate in Brussels Ahmed Ziauddin.
Nizamul Huq stepped down on December 11 as tribunal 1 chair on the heels of media reports on his Skype conversations with lawyer Ziauddin at home and abroad.
A local daily newspaper had published a series of reports on the conversation until the court imposed a ban on the publication of the personal talk on Skype recorded by some quarters by way of hacking.
‘Cyber crimes are increasing globally day by day and it is very urgent in the circumstances to ensure ICT security,’ said the law ministry’s proposal approved by the prime minister, Sheikh Hasina, on December 31, 2012.
The prime minister also endorsed the creation of six positions in different categories including a judge of the rank of district and sessions judge for the tribunal and support staff.
The ICT law stipulates that one or more cyber tribunals could be set up for an effective and speedy trial of criminal activities committed online.
The tribunal can give a maximum of 10 years of imprisonment with a fine of Tk 1 crore for committing crimes under the law enacted in 2006.
-With New Age input
