Bangladesh / Asia

  

CPJ urges Bangladesh’s interim leader Yunus to protect press freedom

The Committee to Protect Journalists on Monday, November 11, wrote to Professor Muhammad Yunus urging him to protect press freedom in his role as chief adviser to the interim government of Bangladesh. On November 4, the interim information ministry announced that the Cyber Security Act would be repealed within a week. The law was passed…

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Shakil Ahmed and Farzana Rupa

Journalists supportive of ousted Bangladesh leader targeted with arrest, criminal cases

New York, September 19, 2024—At least four Bangladeshi journalists who produced coverage seen as supportive of recently ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her Awami League party remain detained following the establishment of an interim government in August. “CPJ is alarmed by the apparently baseless criminal cases lodged against Bangladeshi journalists in retaliation for their…

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People celebrate the resignation the Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina as they take over her official residence, Ganabhaban, in the capital of Dhaka on August 5, 2024. Dozens of Journalists were attacked while covering the protests preceding her resignation. (Reuters/Mohammad Ponir Hossain)

CPJ urges Bangladesh to protect journalists as protests oust PM

New York, August 5, 2024—The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the latest attacks on dozens of journalists covering anti-government protests in Bangladesh and calls on the country’s interim government to urgently ensure the safety of the media following Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s resignation on Monday. “All sides in Bangladesh must ensure that journalists can report…

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Anti-quota protesters clash with police and supporters of the ruling Awami League supporters in the Rampura area of Dhaka, Bangladesh, on July 18, 2024. At least three journalists have been killed covering the protests. (Reuters/Mohammad Ponir Hossain)

Bangladeshi journalists killed in quota protests as reporters attacked, internet blocked

Update: Since publication of this report, CPJ has learned that Md. Shakil Hossen was killed while attending a Dhaka student rally in his personal capacity, not reporting on a Gazipur protest as initial reports indicated. New York, July 26, 2024– The Committee to Protect Journalists has called on Bangladesh authorities to investigate the killings of…

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A man in a blue shirt takes a selfie in front of houses.

U.K.-based journalist Shafiur Rahman decries Bangladesh authorities’ ‘harassment by proxy’

Police and National Security Intelligence officers detained 32 Rohingyas, a stateless ethnic minority, for around 16 hours in Bangladesh’s southeast Cox’s Bazar region on May 17, 2024, on allegations of holding an unauthorized meeting of the Asia-Pacific Network of Refugees (APNOR), a region-wide network of civil society organizations and advocates. Officers questioned nearly all of…

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Journalist Md Shofiuzzaman Rana arrested, 5 correspondents confined in Bangladesh government office

New York, March 20, 2024—Bangladesh authorities must immediately drop all charges against journalist Md Shofiuzzaman Rana and investigate the harassment of five journalists in northern Lalmonirhat district, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Wednesday. Rana was held in jail for a week after police arrested the journalist on March 5. Rana, who works for the…

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Bangladeshi journalist Mohammed Emran Hossan killed in road crash after reporting death threat

Mohammed Emran Hossan, a correspondent for the news website Newsnow24 and Dainik Amader Shomoy newspaper, was killed in a collision with a vehicle at around 1 a.m. on December 30, in the Rangunia sub-district of southeast Chittagong district, according to news reports and Rustam Ali Sikder, the journalist’s father, who spoke with CPJ. A jeep…

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At least 18 Bangladeshi journalists attacked, harassed during election coverage

On Sunday, January 7, 2024, at least 18 journalists were assaulted or harassed while covering alleged election irregularities and violence as Bangladeshis headed to the polls, according to multiple news reports and reporters who spoke to CPJ.  Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina of the ruling Awami League party returned to power for her fifth term amid…

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A man walks past policemen in riot gear ahead of elections in Dhaka, Bangladesh, on January 5, 2024.

CPJ urges Bangladesh authorities, political parties to ensure media freedom ahead of election

New York, January 5, 2024 —The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Bangladesh authorities and all political parties to respect the right of journalists to report freely and safely ahead of Sunday’s upcoming national election. CPJ has documented a number of attacks on journalists in the run-up to the January 7 polls, and on Thursday…

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Bangladeshi journalist Md Nahid Hasan was attacked while reporting on a political clash on November 20, 2023. (Photo courtesy Md Nahid Hasan)

Bangladeshi journalist Md Nahid Hasan attacked while reporting on political clash

New York, November 22, 2023—Bangladesh authorities must immediately and impartially investigate the recent attack on journalist Md Nahid Hasan while reporting on a clash allegedly involving the student wing of the ruling Awami League and hold the perpetrators accountable, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Wednesday. On Monday evening, about 20 to 25 men attacked…

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