358 incidents reported from Aug 2024 to Feb 2025, int鈥檒 rights groups urge govt to protect freedom of expression
Attacks on journalists increased sharply beginning in February. International rights groups on March 21 urged the government to protect the freedom of expression and opinion.
Many of the victims said that they did not file cases in fear of further harassment though the government claimed that they had urged the affected journalists to file cases to bring the offenders to book.
The victims alleged that tortured and harassed journalists seldom got justice after filing cases with the police.
According to rights organisation Ain O Salish Kendra data, 62 incidents of journalist attack and harassment were reported in January and February. Of them, 42 incidents occurred in February alone.
At least 358 cases of journalist attack and harassment were reported between August 2024 and February 2025, the ASK data showed.聽聽
Of the incidents reported since August 2024, at least 154 incidents were reported in August, 74 in September, 34 in October, 22 in November and 12 in December in the past year.
The interim government assumed power on August 8, 2024, three days after the fall of the Sheikh Hasina-led Awami League regime on August 5, 2024 amid a mass uprising.
Of the incidents in the first two months of the ongoing year, six were harassment, torture, and threats allegedly by the law enforcement agencies, one was a death threat, five cases were filed against journalists for publishing reports, 12 were attacks, threats, harassment and bomb hurling allegedly by suspected extremists and six other were committed allegedly by the activists of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party and its affiliated organisations, according to the ASK.
The ASK data showed that 25 of the incidents occurred while the journalists had been performing duties.
According to a joint statement shared on the website of the Committee to Protect Journalists on March 21, the CPJ, Amnesty International, Article 19, Human Rights Watch, Forum-Asia, Civicus, Fortify Rights, Front Line Defenders, and Pen America urged the interim government to protect freedom of expression and opinion.
鈥榃hile the recent attacks are not all by state actors,聽 the government has an obligation to guarantee the right to freedom of expression in Bangladesh, which includes but is not limited to protecting people from attacks by non-state actors for exercising their right to freedom of expression, the statement said.
Chief adviser鈥檚 press secretary Shafiqul Alam claimed that many reported incidents took place over personal issues.
鈥榃e urged all journalists who faced attacks and harassment to file cases but all of them were not coming up to file cases. Many are resolving the matters through negotiations,鈥� Shafiqul said.聽
He said that the government was committed to ensuring a free and fair environment for journalists.
He said that the government was closely monitoring the attacks and harassment of journalists.
Shafiqul also said that they had addressed all incidents carried out by the members of the law enforcement agencies. 聽
On February 5, at least three journalists were injured in an attack allegedly carried out by BNP activists on the Supreme Court premises.
The injured journalists are Zabed Akhter of ATN News, Hasan Jabed of NTV, and Azizul Islam Pannu of Deepto TV.
Zabed Akhter told 抖阴精品 on Saturday that he had yet to file any case over the incident.
鈥業 did not file any case as it would create another hassle. Journalists are hardly getting justice after filing cases,鈥� he said.
The month of February saw a spate of violent attacks on journalists.
On February 3, a journalist was attacked with hammers and knives in Shariatpur as he reported on claims of medical negligence at a private clinic, the CPJ statement said.
It said that three other journalists were reportedly injured in the incident.
On the same day, at least four journalists were attacked in Laximpur by masked men.
On February 9, five journalists were baton-charged, kicked, and punched by the police while covering a protest in Dhaka.
Dhaka Union of Journalists faction president Sohel Haider said that journalists had been subjected to torture and harassment during all successive governments since 1975.
鈥業 urge the interim government to take action against the perpetrators,鈥� he said and expressed concern over the rising trend of attacks on journalists.
Dhaka Union of Journalists another faction president Md Shahidul Islam said that they thought the attack and torture of journalists would come down after the fall of the Sheikh Hasina regime.
鈥榃e also witness some isolated incidents of attacks on journalists during the interim government. We condemn all the incidents of attack on journalists,鈥� he added.
