[🇧🇩] Press Freedom in Bangladesh

[Saif]

https://www.newagebd.net/post/country/316608/govt-yet-to-take-steps-to-improve-media-freedom-bob-talks

Govt yet to take steps to improve media freedom: BoB talks
Staff Correspondent . Dhaka 05 October, 2026, 00:41

Representational image.

People in Bangladesh have repeatedly taken to the streets demanding freedom of expression and press freedom, but those rights have remained elusive despite repeated changes of government over the decades, Prothom Alo editor Matiur Rahman has said.

‘The July uprising of 2024 once again created an opportunity, but that opportunity was missed,’ he said while speaking on the second day of the three-day Bay of Bengal Conversation 2026, organised by the Centre for Governance Studies at Sonargaon Hotel in Dhaka on Sunday.

Speaking at a session titled ‘Journalism after the Turning Point’, Matiur said the incumbent government had an opportunity to improve media freedom as it had the recommendations of the media reform commission before it, but the Bangladesh Nationalist Party-led government had yet to take any such initiative.

At a separate session titled ‘Do We Know How to Govern?’, The Daily Star editor Mahfuz Anam said Bangladesh had repeatedly succeeded in removing authoritarian governments but had failed to build strong democratic institutions.

‘We have an almost enviable capacity to overthrow authoritarian rule. However, just as we are good at overthrowing authoritarianism, unfortunately, we are equally poor at building democratic institutions,’ he said.

He said the country also had ‘an almost limitless capacity to fail to build democratic institutions’ after overthrowing authoritarian rule, identifying excessive politicisation of institutions as the main reason.

Mahfuz Anam said when a political party won an election, its victory was initially seen as an expression of the people’s will, but the public mandate soon became tied to party interests rather than the public interest.

He identified corruption, politicisation, nepotism and favouritism as consequences of such a system and questioned whether governments were governing people in the way they deserved.

Earlier, speakers at a session titled ‘Beyond the Safety Net’ called for a review of Bangladesh’s social safety-net programmes.

They stressed coordinated management to avoid duplication and urged greater focus on income-generating support.

They also warned that unequal access to technology could create another form of inequality in the long term.

Former Malaysian minister Zuraida Kamaruddin said subsidised housing for the urban poor had significantly benefited low-income people in Malaysia.

Maldives education ministry director general Mariyam Nasir said health insurance, free education up to the first degree and support for single mothers had benefited people in her country.

UNDP Bangladesh assistant resident representative Anowarul Haq moderated the session, which was also addressed by Bangladesh prime minister’s political adviser Zahir Uddin Swapon and ILO Bangladesh country director Max Tuñón.

At a separate session titled ‘Diplomatic Lens’, British High Commissioner to Bangladesh Sarah Cooke said the UK was working closely with Bangladesh and continued to press for a solution to the Rohingya crisis.​

 

[Saif]

Government changes, fight for press freedom continues

The attack on journalists at Rajshahi University by Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal (JCD), student wing of the ruling party, once again exposes the kind of pressure and intimidation that journalists in Bangladesh have to work under. On Saturday night, a group of Chhatra Dal activists armed with machetes,

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Government changes, fight for press freedom continues

The attack on journalists at Rajshahi University by Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal (JCD), student wing of the ruling party, once again exposes the kind of pressure and intimidation that journalists in Bangladesh have to work under. On Saturday night, a group of Chhatra Dal activists armed with machetes, hockey sticks, pipes and bats beat up students and journalists, leaving at least 10 injured, including four reporters, mostly university correspondents of the national dailies. This is alarming for a number of reasons.

First of all, the incident is eerily similar to the oppression and torture that ordinary students and campus reporters suffered at the hands of activists of the now-banned Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL) during the fascist Awami League regime. At that time, the unlawful and criminal activities of BCL activists had created an atmosphere of fear at many educational institutions across the country. That memory is still raw for many. Students fought back against the tyranny of the BCL as well as its mother organisation, the Awami League, during the July-August uprising of 2024. In post-uprising Bangladesh, it was hoped that unruly student politics on campuses would be a thing of the past and that a peaceful academic atmosphere would prevail. But much of that hope faded as the kind of reform that people expected did not materialise. The latest incident at RU is an indication that the country could once again be heading down the same dangerous path.

It is worth recalling that journalists have also been targeted at several other places since the 2024 uprising. In April, 10 journalists were injured in an attack allegedly carried out by JCD activists at Shahbagh Police Station. Earlier, in March, JCD activists were accused of attacking journalists at the office of the Jagannath University Journalists' Association, leaving 10 reporters injured. These disturbing incidents bode ill for a free media.

Secondly, it is being increasingly observed that journalists are being targeted for carrying out their professional duties. In all three incidents at RU, DU and JnU, journalists were targeted for doing their jobs. Meanwhile, on August 29, a journalist was reportedly assaulted by JCD activists while covering a programme of Law Minister Md Asaduzzaman in Jhenaidah. Similarly, three journalists were reportedly beaten during a BNP programme on August 25 in front of the Shariatpur Deputy Commissioner's office.

However, journalists are not being assaulted by ruling party activists alone. Intolerance and a lack of respect for dissent within the ranks of any political party can ultimately spill over into violence against journalists. On June 23, a journalist was assaulted by members of the opposition Jamaat-e-Islami while carrying out his professional duties. Such incidents suggest that hostility towards the press is not confined to any particular political camp.

And then, what further emboldens the attackers is the prevailing culture of impunity. As is customary in such cases, probe committees are formed, but hardly probe committee reports see the daylight and seldom culprits are apprehended as they take shelter behind powers that be. Following the incident at Dhaka University, the names and photographs of some of the alleged attackers were published in the media, yet the police reportedly refused to record a case. In the case of the Rajshahi University incident, a case was eventually filed, but the victims allege that although the names and photographs of the alleged attackers are widely circulated in social media, they were still described as unidentified in the case. Such practices inevitably undermine public confidence in the rule of law and embolden those who believe they can act with impunity. If only law is allowed to take its own course, regardless of the political identity or influence of the accused, we could rest assured that justice would be served.

Harassment of journalists is not confined to a few isolated attacks here or there. The statistics make the scale of the problem clear. According to data from Ain o Salish Kendra (ASK), 381 incidents of harassment and persecution of journalists were documented in 2025. The situation has not improved in the first six months of the current year either. According to the Human Rights Support Society, 383 journalists were subjected to abuse, attacks and harassment in 200 incidents between January and June.

The number is definitely pretty high. It should cause a bit of discomfiture to the ruling BNP known to be an ardent advocate of press freedom. The position taken by the BNP regarding press freedom in its 31-point reform plan is theoretically all right, but it has to make sure that there is no gap between what it preaches and what its followers practise. Press freedom in its truest sense is a lofty goal that must be attained to consolidate democracy and also to establish the rule of law. It sounds very nice when political leaders express their great determination to uphold press freedom. However, the question of freedom arises only when journalists can perform their duties honourably and safely. If they become the punching bag of the political activists whenever a report goes against their parties, the government's claim of a free media rings hollow. Do the government high-ups believe that it is enough to talk about democracy, press freedom and rule of law in public meetings while allowing its rank and files to commit all sorts of crimes? The government must act before it is too late.​