Dhaka, April 1 -- The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk yesterday called on Bangladesh to immediately suspend Digital Security Act.

"I am concerned that the Digital Security Act is being used across Bangladesh to arrest, harass and intimidate journalists and human rights defenders, and to muzzle critical voices online," Turk said in a press release.

"I call again on the authorities to impose an immediate moratorium on its use and to reform comprehensively its provisions to bring them in line with the requirements of international human rights law. My office has already provided detailed technical comments to assist with such a revision."

The UN rights body said more than 2,000 cases have been filed under the...