Image collected from Voice of America

Censored and Defiant: Press Freedom in Bangladesh

Fahmida Huq Saima
Researcher, Dacca Institute of Research and Analytics – daira.

Press freedom in Bangladesh has consistently been a myth. Journalists in this country have consistently faced severe criticism, retaliation, and retribution for their reporting on those in positions of authority. Free press voices have almost always been suppressed in Bangladesh. In the past decade, 14 journalists were murdered in Bangladesh by the Awami League regime , as reported by IPI’s Death Watch. In the majority of instances, trials are never initiated, investigations fail to produce any results, and they are promptly terminated. Despite the government’s assurance that “the killers would be arrested in 48 hours,” the probe report for the well-known cases of Sagar Sarowar, news editor of TV Maasranga, and Meherun Runi, senior reporter at ATN Bangla, who were brutally murdered at their home in 2012, has not been submitted. The incident shook the entire nation. According to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), Bangladesh is one of the most dangerous countries for journalists. Starting in 1992, at least 34 journalists were assassinated for work-related reasons. As a result of restrictions on the open publication of news and restricted freedom of speech in situations that are considered crimes, Bangladesh has steadily declined in the main media, freedom of expression, and human rights indices.

Press freedom experienced a significant decline following Sheikh Hasina’s assumption of power in 2009. The 15 years of her tenure are undoubtedly among the most bleak chapters in the nation’s history of press freedom. For the majority of Hasina’s 15-year tenure, journalists have been subjected to forced disappearances, abuse, and arrests by the security forces of Bangladesh. This has kept them from conducting routine reporting for fear of writing anything that could be perceived as humiliating by the government. Following the 5th of August, there was a resurgence of optimism regarding the establishment of a free and independent press. After decades of oppression, journalists sought the freedom to report the truth without fear of retribution under this interim government. They aspired to possess the most fundamental of all possessions: safety and security. The interim government has been in power for more than six months since the ousted dictator Hasina departed the scene. In the aftermath of the July uprising, during which journalists also shed their blood, how much has changed for them now that the people’s government is in power? This article will try to find out the answer.  

Silencing the Truth: Press Freedom Under Sheikh Hasina’s Reign

Sheikh Hasina’s regime has been nothing short of catastrophic for press freedom in the country, ruthlessly silencing dissent, tightening state control over the media, and creating an atmosphere of fear where truth itself struggles to survive.

IPI notes 42 cases of press freedom violations between October 2022 and March 2023. Ain O Salish Kendra (ASK), a Bangladesh human rights and legal help agency, published the data. 56 reporters died, threatened, harassed, sued, intimidated, or otherwise stopped from working in the first three months of 2023. Attacks on multiple times targeted reporters covering political demonstrations or breaking news in the run-up to Bangladesh’s parliamentary elections in 2023. Police seriously injured a photojournalist at a Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) function in December 2022; two reporters were attacked by Chhatra League members when they were reporting close to the National Press Club. At a January 2023 protest at Nayapaltan, Dhaka, a group of BNP leaders and activists from the Kamrangirchar area attacked a video journalist, breaking his equipment. Police attacked at least nine reporters on the steps of Dhaka’s Supreme Court in March 2023 while covering elections by the Supreme Court Bar Association.

Investigative coverage of land conflicts and individuals without land in the Satkhira district resulted in the January 2023 arrest of a journalist under unidentified charges. He said the police physically attacked, tormented, and threatened the journalist. The events continued with terrifying speed.

Following a complaint by a local political figure of the Awami League, who claimed the journalist was spreading “false news,” a gang of fifteen police officials arrested a Prothom Alo correspondent in March 2023 under the DSA. Prothom Alo’s editor also has been sued under the DSA for the identical piece. Years following the event, a journalist from The Daily Shahnama and the news website Barisal Khabar is still under charges from the DSA for allegedly photographing a mayor in the region. The mayor responded legally by complaining following a report on the city’s management of the disaster.

Regarding his piece on national income, Shamsuzzaman Shams, a correspondent for the main national newspaper Prothom Alo, was arrested on March 30, 2023 under the DSA. Held on charges included posting material that “tarnished the image of the nation” among others middle of the night. Litigations under the Act against Matiur Rahman, Sajjad Sharif, an unidentified camera operator at the outlet, and other unidentified people also revolved on the narrative. Shams was granted bail and released since then. Speaking in parliament twelve days after Shams’ detention, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina labelled Prothom Alo the “enemy” of the people, democracy, and the ruling Awami League party. After Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s speech, several young people broke into and wrecked the prothom alo office.

On April 4, 2023, a band of armed thugs reportedly threw reporter Ayub Meahzi from the second storey of a Chattogram. Mehazi, who escaped without injury, has said that his coverage of a gang engaged in illegal hill cutting and land grabs by local government officials led to a type of revenge.

Not only were reporters assassinated and tortured for carrying out their legal obligations under Hasina’s direction, but important media sources were also shuttered. The government shut down Dainik Dinkal, the Bengali-language journal of Bangladesh’s main opposition party, BNP. The Bangladesh Press Council decided as such. Hasina also arrested Mahmudur Rahman, the editor of the well-known journal Amar Desh, and shut it down, therefore demonstrating unequivocally that the government has the power to close any media source at any one moment. The government has suggested changes to the Press Council Act that would revoke the accreditation of convicted reporters and give the quasi-judicial Bangladesh Press Council great power to investigate and punish media outlets publishing news that compromises state security. The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting directed the government’s telecoms authority to prohibit 191 news websites distributing “anti-state news.” The government instructed mobile network operators to slow down the speed of mobile internet during several BNP political demonstrations in different cities around Bangladesh.

The heinous murder of journalist couple Sagar-Runi depicts the cruelty and unfair treatment directed upon Bangladeshi journalists under Hasina’s autocratic control. Their lone child was left to bear the terrible effects of the killings that happened in their house late at night. A decade has gone by and justice still has to be done in face of strong opposition on national and global forums. Even now, the silence of justice echoes through the lives of journalists, as murders go unpunished, voices are silenced, and the relentless grip on press freedom leaves truth gasping for air.

The Digital Security Act and the Erosion of Press Freedom in Bangladesh

The Digital Security Act (DSA), passed in October 2018, has become one of the most repressive tools under Sheikh Hasina’s regime, systematically undermining press freedom in Bangladesh. Under the cover of safeguarding digital environments, the bill gives the government broad authority to prohibit online material judged detrimental to public order or against the “spirit of liberation.” Targeting independent journalism and stifling alternative voices, its loosely worded rules have been used to Section 25 notably prescribes up to five years’ jail for posting false or offensive material; Section 29 penalizes defamatory publications with the same sentence. Under the colonial-era Official Secrets Act, Section 31 criminalizes content thought to be undermining law and order and Section 32 permits up to 14 years in prison for helping crimes, therefore giving the state frightening authority over the media.

Press freedom has suffered greatly since the DSA was passed. According to the Centre for Governance Studies, between 2018 and 2023 more than 7,000 instances were registered under the statute; 255 cases specifically targeted journalists. The press has been methodically intimidated and silenced using the law. With Reporters Without Borders (RSF) rating Bangladesh at 165th out of 180 countries in its 2024 Press Freedom Index, marking the country among the most dangerous places for reporters, Bangladesh’s press freedom status has collapsed. International watchdogs like Amnesty International and the United Nations have regularly denounced the abuse of the DSA, stressing its part in harassing reporters, activists, and human rights defenders. The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights even demanded an instantaneous ban on the law, denouncing its application to silence dissenting opinions.

For many reporters, the effects of DSA abuse have been quite personal. Simply for Facebook posts critical of ruling party members, photojournalist Shafiqul Islam Kajol was forcefully disappeared for 53 days before being discovered and imprisoned for another seven months under the DSA. His story shows how the law has been used to inflict psychological and bodily damage as well as to stifle criticism. Similar abduction from his house, torture, and ten-month imprisonment for artist Ahmed Kabir Kishore following internet publication of satirical cartoons The death of fellow prisoner Mushtaq Ahmed, who had also been detained under the DSA, finally set off his release. Investigative journalist Rozina Islam was arrested under the Official Secrets Act in 2021 following revelations of alleged Ministry of Health wrongdoing. Her detention set off a national and worldwide indignation that made the authorities regretful but devoid of any meaningful action.

The government’s response has been at best cosmetic, despite worldwide censure. The DSA was renamed the Cybersecurity Act under pressure, but detractors—including Amnesty International—argue that the new law keeps most of the authoritarian features of the DSA. Bangladesh is the only nation in South Asia still strictly enforcing colonial-era regulations such as the Official Secrets Act, which most of its neighbors have already dropped. Together with the DSA, these antiquated legal systems have created a hostile environment for journalists, criminalizing their work and violating Article 39 of the Bangladeshi Constitution, thus violating their rights under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR).

The numbers are appalling. With an average of 4.5 incidents every day, almost 7,000 cases under the DSA had been registered by 2023. Human Rights Watch said that although Bangladesh’s previous Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Act had already set the foundation for media repression prior to the DSA, the DSA strengthened the crackdown. Out of 668 cases reported under the DSA between 2018 and 2021, the Centre for Governance Studies discovered that just two have been settled, leaving hundreds of reporters and citizens in legal uncertainty. Along with the possibility of enforced disappearances, torture, and protracted detentions, this legal harassment has created a general climate of terror among media professionals. 

July Uprising and Press Freedom

In Bangladesh, businessmen-politicians have long been the dominant force in media ownership, utilizing newspapers and television channels as instruments for personal and political benefit. Instead of promoting independent journalism, these outlets frequently safeguard their owners from tax investigations, circumvent customs regulations, and negotiate bureaucratic obstacles. The amalgamation of political and media interests has resulted in a significant degree of public distrust, as the distinction between journalism and propaganda has become increasingly muddled.

The mass protests that culminated in the ouster of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on August 5 rendered the deeply entrenched issues within Bangladesh’s media landscape particularly apparent. Much of the mainstream media refrained from supporting the movement as students and citizens endangered their lives in their pursuit of justice. The media industry’s pervasive culture of self-censorship and dread was underscored by the fact that numerous editors aligned themselves with the fallen regime, thereby exposing their loyalties. These outlets continued to hesitate in questioning the narratives of those in power or challenging authority even after the regime’s collapse.

Journalists were also significantly affected by the protests, as they encountered intimidation and violence while reporting on the unrest. At least five journalists have been murdered, and dozens of journalists have been injured since the protests commenced in June. Police fired pellets at reporters, compelled them to delete images, and physically assaulted them. Dhaka Times journalist Hasan Mehedi was fatally shot by police in the Jatrabari district of Dhaka on July 18. The following day, in Sylhet, Shakil Hossain of Bhorer Awaj and Abu Taher Md Turab of Daily Naya Diganta were both fatally shot. Tahir Zaman Priyo, a freelance video journalist, was fatally shot in the head in Dhaka on August 2. Pradeep Kumar Bhowmik, a journalist for Daily Khabarpatra, was fatally shot in Sirajganj just days later, on August 5.

The fragile state of press freedom in Bangladesh is emphasized by the media’s reluctance to challenge authority and the violent targeting of journalists during the protests. Independent journalism is continually impeded by entrenched political interests, censorship, and fear, resulting in the erosion of public trust in the media and the vulnerability of reporters.

Press Freedom in Post-Hasina Era

The resignation of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on August 5 was a significant turning point for press freedom in Bangladesh. Many in the media aspired to a new era of free expression after years of censorship, intimidation, and violence against journalists. Journalists expressed cautious optimism subsequent to Hasina’s departure. Zafar Sobhan, editor of the Dhaka Tribune, recognized the removal of a repressive government as a positive development; however, he underscored that substantial obstacles persist. He emphasized the necessity of repealing oppressive laws, particularly those that pertain to freedom of expression and social media, in order to reestablish genuine press freedom.

Nevertheless, the interim administration, which is headed by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, has elicited apprehensions. In December, the government suspended press accreditations in response to a fire at the secretariat, thereby restricting journalists’ access to critical information. Despite the introduction of temporary passes, press organizations criticized the decision, describing it as a threat to independent journalism. Amnesty International and local rights organizations urged the government to promote free speech and repeal restrictive laws.

Violence against journalists has persisted, despite the optimism that positive change is imminent. Several journalists have been assaulted or killed while reporting on demonstrations or stories. Incidents that are noteworthy include:

Shohag Khan Sujon of Samakal was brutally assaulted with a hammer and knife in Shariatpur on February 3, following an investigation into medical negligence. In an effort to render assistance, three additional journalists sustained injuries. On February 5, approximately twenty supporters of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) assaulted journalists who were covering a court case at the Supreme Court, underscoring the ongoing political violence against the press. On February 9, six journalists who were documenting a student protest in Dhaka were attacked by riot police, despite the fact that they were displaying their press credentials.

Press freedom organizations, such as Reporters Without Borders (RSF), have expressed concern regarding the recent increase in violence. They have urged authorities to guarantee the safety of journalists and to prosecute those responsible. Amnesty International echoed this sentiment, underscoring the necessity of eliminating repressive laws that stifle free expression.

The freedom of the press has undoubtedly improved since August 5th, according to journalists. Bangladesh’s Global Freedom Score has increased by five points, reaching 45 out of 100 in the most recent assessment, according to a recent Freedom House report. Countries are assessed by the Freedom Index on the basis of critical indicators, including political rights, civil liberties, electoral processes, political pluralism, government functionality, freedom of expression, and individual rights.The report indicates that the democratic environment and governance of the country have undergone a positive transformation, as evidenced by the significant improvements in these areas. Nevertheless, despite this advancement, there are still obstacles to guaranteeing the protection of civil rights, media independence, and greater political freedoms.

The improvement in Bangladesh’s score is indicative of the ongoing endeavors to fortify democratic institutions; however, additional efforts are required to maintain and improve these accomplishments. Long-term democratic development necessitates ongoing reforms and protections for fundamental rights and freedoms, according to experts.

The rule of an authoritarian government is unparalleled. Journalists are now able to critique the government, report the news, and express their opinions without dread. While there is undoubtedly a positive trend in the country with respect to press freedom, there are still numerous tasks that require completion. Journalists are frequently targeted by the rabble due to the country’s severe lack of law and order. It is imperative to recognize the grave security threat. Alternatively, the optimism that has arisen in the wake of the July uprising will soon dissipate, rendering the freedom of the press a mere fiction, as it has always been. 

The future of press freedom in Bangladesh is uncertain, despite the optimism that has been engendered by the end of Sheikh Hasina’s tenure. The interim government’s actions have resulted in a media landscape that is both complex and fragile, as they both facilitate and impede the free press. The advancement of a press that is genuinely independent and free is jeopardized by the persistent violence against journalists and restrictive policies. In addition, it is crucial to liberate the media from political influence. It has been evident that numerous media outlets are currently operating as propaganda machines and serving their own agendas, rather than the truth. It is imperative that these practices be discontinued. Media organizations ought to be autonomous entities that are not subject to the influence of those in positions of authority. The government must prioritize the safety of journalists, repeal oppressive laws, and foster a culture of transparency and accountability in order to effect significant change. In this new epoch, Bangladesh can only then fully realize the promise of a free press.

Reference 

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