The climate of press freedom in Bangladesh rapidly deteriorated this year after a war crimes tribunal sentenced several members of an Islamist party to life imprisonment for crimes dating to the 1971 war of independence. Bloggers helped mobilize thousands of dissatisfied secularists to the streets in calling for the death penalty for those convicted. Thousands…
Risk List underlines mass surveillance, fatalities, and censorship New York, February 6, 2014–Mass surveillance programs by the U.S. and U.K., as well as restrictive Internet legislation by various governments and a wave of cyberattacks globally, are among the disturbing developments that have landed cyberspace on the Committee to Protect Journalists’ Risk List, released today.
New York, January 10, 2014–A Dhaka court on Thursday sentenced an editor to seven years in prison in connection with his articles about the rise of Islamic fundamentalism in Bangladesh that allegedly showed the country in a critical light.
Training journalists how to better cover gender-based violence can help challenge attitudes that foster sexual attacks. Helping journalists learn personal skills to safely navigate sexual aggression can help prevent them from becoming victims themselves.
Bangladesh’s Supreme Court has hardened the sentence against Abdul Quader Molla, a top Islamist of a key opposition party, from a life term to death for his role in mass killings committed during the country’s war of independence from Pakistan in 1971. But what caught my eye in particular was that Molla was also convicted…
Nadia Sharmeen was attacked when she tried to cover a protest in April. (Ekushey TV)It has been a turbulent year for journalists in Bangladesh. It began with blogger Asif Mohiuddin being stabbed in January as he left his office in Dhaka. The following month, blogger Ahmed Rajib Haider was killed for his writing. Four other…
Almost eight years have passed since the murder of Bangladeshi journalist Gautam Das, but the slow wheels of justice have finally rotated. Late last month, a court sentenced nine individuals to life in prison in connection with the scribe’s murder. Many local journalists have hailed the verdict as a landmark, the first time a Bangladeshi…