Bangladesh / Asia

The Committee to Protect Journalists on March 21 joined eight other civil society organizations in expressing alarm over violence against the media and human rights defenders in Bangladesh, with at least 17 journalists attacked in February. An interim government took power in Bangladesh following the ouster of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in August. The…

New York, February 14, 2025— Six months after a mass uprising ousted the increasingly autocratic administration of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, Bangladeshi journalists continue to be threatened and attacked for their work, along with facing new fears that planned legislation could undermine press freedom. Bangladesh’s interim government — established amid high hopes of political…

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 On November 4, the interim information ministry announced that the Cyber Security Act would be repealed within a week.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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…