Bangladesh’s High Court granted bail on Wednesday to a cartoonist who has been held for 10 months of pre-trial detention under a digital security law that critics say stifles freedom of expression.

Ahmed Kabir Kishore faces charges of creating confusion over the government’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic and contributing to the deterioration of law and order in the country, but rights groups say the use of the Digital Security Act against him is a repressive measure.

Kishore is now in prison outside the capital, Dhaka, and his lawyer said he has been tortured in custody.