On September 16, 2024, police arrested Shyamal Dutta, editor of the privately owned newspaper Bhorer Kagoj, and Mozammel Babu, former managing director and editor-in-chief of the privately owned Ekattor TV, after they allegedly attempted to illegally enter India from Bangladesh’s northern Mymensingh district.
The journalists and their outlets are known for their support of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who was ousted in August following mass protests that ended her 15-year rule. Dozens of journalists whose reporting was considered favorable toward Hasina’s government have since been targeted in criminal investigations.
As of late 2024, Dutta was held in Dhaka Central Jail, Keraniganj — on the outskirts of the capital — while police investigated allegations that he instigated murder during the protests and illegally attempted to cross the border, the journalist’s lawyer ZI Khan Panna told CPJ.
Panna said that Dutta suffers from cardiac issues and high blood pressure but prison authorities denied him access to the highest quality facilities, known colloquially as “division,” a category outlined under Bangladesh’s jail code.
As of late 2024, police spokesperson Enamul Haque Sagor and home ministry adviser Md Jahangir Alam Chowdhury, who oversees Bangladesh’s police and prisons, did not respond to CPJ’s calls and text messages requesting comment.