Bangladesh internet law has 'chilling effect': UN rapporteur - Yahoo News

An internet law in Bangladesh has had a "chilling effect" on society, the UN's Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion said Wednesday after a nine-day visit to the country, as he warned of rising religious extremism.

Under Bangladesh's Internet Act, any person who deliberately publishes material deemed to hurt religious beliefs, offend the state or damage law and order can be jailed for 14 years.

The law has been used to imprison several high-profile journalists and social media users in the Muslim-majority nation in recent months.

"This law has a chilling effect on civil society organisations, human rights activists and members of religious minority communities," rapporteur Heiner Bielefeldt told reporters in the capital Dhaka.

The UN rapporteur's visit came in the wake of four murders of atheist bloggers by suspected Islamic militants this year and mounting concern over shrinking press freedom and human rights abuses.

Bangladesh internet law has 'chilling effect': UN rapporteur - Yahoo News