Rights Group Warns of Shrinking Press Freedom in Bangladesh
PARIS — A human rights organization has raised concern over what it described as the continuing intimidation, harassment, arbitrary detention and imprisonment of journalists in Bangladesh, warning that the space for independent journalism in the country is rapidly shrinking.
Justice Makers Bangladesh in France, or JMBF, issued the statement to mark World Press Freedom Day, which was observed Sunday. The group said laws presented as tools to protect national security and public order are increasingly being used to suppress dissent, criminalize investigative reporting and create a climate of fear among journalists.
“Legislative instruments ostensibly enacted to safeguard national security and public order are increasingly being misused to suppress dissent, criminalise investigative reporting, and cultivate a climate of fear among media practitioners,” the rights body stated.
JMBF cited the prolonged detention and continued prosecution of several journalists and human rights defenders, including Farzana Rupa, Sakil Ahmed, Shahriar Kabir, Mozammel Hoque Babu and Shamal Datto.
Citing what it called credible reports, the group said the individuals were arrested in 2024 without due process, including without arrest warrants, and later faced multiple serious and, in some cases, “questionable charges” during the tenure of the former Muhammad Yunus-led interim government.
The rights group said their continued detention under the current Bangladesh Nationalist Party-led government raises serious concerns about what it called “politically motivated prosecutions” and a broader pattern of repression against independent voices.
“These cases exemplify a troubling reality in which journalists are penalised not for criminal conduct, but for fulfilling their professional responsibility to hold power to account. The targeting of a female journalist such as Farzana Rupa is particularly concerning, as it underscores the heightened and intersectional risks faced by women in the media sector, including gender-based intimidation and discrimination,” JMBF said.
The group said the cases are not isolated incidents but part of a wider erosion of press freedom and democratic norms in Bangladesh. It said journalists across the country increasingly face arbitrary arrests, digital surveillance, strategic lawsuits against public participation, legal harassment and, in some cases, physical violence.
JMBF said such conditions encourage self-censorship and undermine the public’s right to accurate and independent information.
“The ongoing persecution, arbitrary detention, and systematic intimidation of journalists in Bangladesh reflect a deepening political and institutional crisis, wherein state power is being deployed to suppress dissent and manipulate the public narrative. The criminalisation of journalism represents a direct assault on democratic governance and the rule of law,” said Charlotte Jacquemart, an adviser to JMBF.
“The international community must recognise these violations not as isolated occurrences, but as part of a broader trajectory of democratic backsliding that necessitates urgent political accountability and sustained diplomatic engagement,” she added.
JMBF urged governments, intergovernmental bodies, human rights organizations and press freedom advocates to increase monitoring of conditions in Bangladesh and hold authorities accountable for violations against journalists and media institutions. (Source: IANS)
