The Newspaper Owners’ Association of Bangladesh on Thursday expressed deep concern over freedom of the press and security of journalists.
In a statement, the association also mentioned that a recent incident at the Daily Janakantha, a Bengali broadsheet, was unwanted.
Signed by NOAB president AK Azad, the statement said, ‘The country’s people were united to establish free, neutral and democratic society through a mass uprising, where we firmly believed that the fundamental rights like disclosure of information, freedom of expression and freedom of the press would be ensured.’
The statement said that it was unfortunate that the expectation was not fulfilled in the past one year.
The July mass uprising ousted the authoritarian Awami League regime on August 5, 2024. The interim government led by Professor Muhammad Yunus assumed office on August 8 past year.
NOAB suggested that the government should take necessary steps to ensure a free and democratic society.
‘We have observed with fear that a move was taken recently for evicting entrepreneurs and realising demands by creating mob at Janakantha. If there was any issue of dues, it could be resolved through the Labour Court,’ said the NOAB statement.
It said that if there was any conflict over news or content, the individuals could have filed a complaint with the Bangladesh Press Council.
Without taking such measures, NOAB said, they created unpleasant situation at the newspaper office and portal.
NOAB said that the culture of creating mob at newspaper or mass media offices and threatening owners would have to be stopped.
The statement said that the base of democracy would be stronger if the mass media’s security and freedom were ensured.
NOAB referred to the Transparency International Bangladesh’s recent study report where the corruption watchdog said that 496 journalists faced harassments in the past one year between August 2024 and July 2025.
A total of 266 journalists were named in murder cases related to the July uprising and three journalists were killed in the past one year, said the NOAB statement referring to the TIB study report.