e_Paper, Friday, August 25, 2017

14
FRIDAY, AUGUST 25, 2017
DT
Opinion
Can you legally
film a police
investigation in
Bangladesh?
It may not be as unlawful as some
would have you believe
• Aiman R Khan
With the advent of
social media, citizen
journalism has
become a common
modern practice. Smartphones
being the key players behind it,
any individual can now broadcast
an incident happening in their
part of the world, such as filming a
police officer on duty.
In Bangladesh, regular
Facebook users post photographs
or videos of their encounters with
the police on the streets. Many
people are either greeted with a
smile or harassed with threats.
Mostly as a reply to harassment,
many individuals tend to record
videos of the event as means of
restraint.
Such “stop and search” are
usually for minor street offenses
like issuance of a parking ticket.
But most of these video recordings
show the misconduct of police
officers. This brings us to a
question: Can you legally film the
police while on investigation?
A Bangladeshi Facebook group
called Desperately Seeking Dhaka
(DSD) allows its members to post
queries regarding their legal
rights or anything that happens
in Dhaka. This group became
increasingly popular among Dhaka
dwellers as a platform for their
wishes and complains living in
this city.
Pictures, videos, writings grace
its wall, making it a stage in front
of a diverse audience. A lot of
these become viral in a matter of
hours. Hence, videos of a police
officer misbehaving or acting
beyond their authority becomes a
common sight.
Although such posts get a lot
of shares, very few actions are
actually taken. Most of the time,
the person posting becomes the
offender. She/he gets charged for
breaching section 57 of the ICT
ACT 2006. The video posted would
be considered as “a publication of
online material which threatens
law and order.”
This section, as amended
in 2013, covers online crimes
including defamation, blasphemy,
and other related offenses, and
was passed through a presidential
decree, expanding police powers
and increasing the penalties for
violations.
It gives powers to law enforcers
against online expression. To
Video recordings by
citizens have proven
to be indispensable
in bringing to light
instances where the
police unfortunately
misused their
powers
add more to the restriction, the
draft Digital Securities Act 2016
promises to create multiple
offenses as a supplementary to
the previous Act. Section 19(2)
proposes to make an offense out
of any publication in electronic
form which is “untrue or obscene,
or which distorts or pollutes
the human mind, causes loss of
standing or social demotion to
someone.”
A citizen journalist may be
considered to be a journalist
without a professional
designation. However
unprofessional they may be, social
media has empowered them
to stand up against unfairness.
But, under the Special Powers
Act 1974, a journalist may face
imprisonment of up to 120 days
without trial -- for stories that are
critical of government officials or
policies.
In the worst possible outcome,
the publisher may also be
charged with the offense of
Do they know that citizen journalism is not the enemy?
sedition for uploading a video
of the police. According to
section 124A of the Penal Code
1860, whoever by words, either
spoken or written, or by signs,
or by visible representation, or
otherwise, brings or attempts to
bring into hatred or contempt,
or excites sentiments against the
government shall be punished
(with imprisonment for life or any
shorter term).
Also if such a video can
be established as a purpose
of terrorism, he may face
imprisonment of 14 years.
According to Section 13 of the Anti
Terrorism Act 2009, instigation of
terrorist activities by distribution
of information in electronic
medium is an offense.
Rights and duties
The Constitution of Bangladesh
is the supreme law of the land.
It gets primacy over every other
law in Bangladesh. Article 39 of
the constitution has recognised a
citizen’s freedom of thought and
conscience, ie freedom of speech
and expression. It has guaranteed
press freedom which is no longer
limited to print media but also
online.
Under Section 2 of Bangladesh
Broadcasting Act, 2003, such a
person may be considered as a
“community broadcaster.”
A community broadcaster
according to this act is any
broadcaster who operates on
a non-profit basis, serving a
particular community by reflecting
the interests and needs of that
community.
Such a person may also be
protected under Article 19 of the
International Covenant on Civil
and Political Rights (ICCPR). The
Article states: “Everyone shall
have the right to hold opinions
without interference.”
It also states that everyone
shall have the right to freedom of
expression; this right shall include
freedom to seek, receive, and
impart information and ideas of
all kinds, regardless of frontiers,
either orally, in writing or in print,
in the form of art, or through any
other media of his choice.
As a citizen of Bangladesh,
everyone has the right to protect
the law to enjoy being protected
by the law. Therefore, a citizen
may not interfere with a police
investigation with the intention to
obstruct it.
Section 34 of the Police Act
empowers police officers to
impose a fine not exceeding
Tk50 or eight days imprisonment
for causing inconvenience,
obstruction, annoyance, risk,
danger, or damage on the streets.
According to Section 18 of
the Dhaka Metropolitan Police
Ordinance, 1976, all persons
shall be bound to conform to the
reasonable directions of a policeofficer
given in fulfillment of any
of his duties under this ordinance.
Section 186 of the Penal
Code 1860 states that whoever
voluntarily obstructs any public
servant in the discharge of his
public functions, shall be punished
with imprisonment of either
description for a term which may
extend to three months, or with
fine which may extend to Tk500,
or with both.
MAHMUD HOSSAIN OPU
Can you film the police elsewhere
in the world?
The practice of filming is
widespread in the West.
In the case of Gaymon et al
v Borough of Collingdale, the
liability was on the police officer
for interfering with lawful citizen
video recording his misconduct.
This case proved how the US
courts prioritised the freedom of
expression mentioned in their Bill
of Rights.
Section 33(2) of Kerala
Police Act allows public to keep
electronic records. It states that
no police officer shall prevent
any member of the public from
lawfully making any audio or
video or electronic record of any
police action or activity carried out
in a public or private place.
In the UK, the Metropolitan
Police Guidelines clearly states:
“Police have no power to stop
them filming or photographing
incidents or police personnel.”
Video recordings by citizens
have proven to be indispensable
in bringing instances where the
police unfortunately misused their
powers to light.
Although there are no express
provisions prohibiting it, needless
to say, filming an investigation is
legal unless done with mischief.
The Dhaka Metropolitan Police
itself launched a special initiative
of making its officers wear body
cams to ensure accountability.
This is an appreciative step which
opens a door for amendments to
the existing laws of the country. •
Aiman R Khan is a trainee Lawyer,
Dhaka Judge Court.