Bangladeshi journalists hope that Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s resignation will mark an end to an era of censorship and fear, and prepare to hold a new caretaker government to account.
Arrests, abuses and enforced disappearances by Bangladeshi security forces have dogged journalists for much of Hasina’s 15 years in power, preventing them from reporting on a daily basis for fear of writing something embarrassing for the government.
Last year, Prime Minister Hasina took over Prothom Alo, the country’s largest newspaper., “Enemy of the People”For reporting on inflation.
But this week, cautious optimism has begun to spread among Bangladeshi journalists.
“I am hopeful. At least the repressive regime is gone. That in itself is a major achievement,” said Zafar Sobhan, editor of the English-language daily Dhaka Tribune.
Sobhan said the first few years of Prime Minister Hasina’s Awami League government were relatively free but the situation for the media rapidly deteriorated after the opposition boycott of the 2014 elections called into question the government’s legitimacy.
Sobhan said he always feared his journalists would be attacked by authorities or security forces and did not trust the judiciary to protect them, so when one of his journalists was jailed on suspicion of voter fraud in the 2018 elections, he “had to do everything” to have them released.
He said he hoped the country’s most repressive laws, which also target social media posts, would be repealed, allowing the country to “set things right.”
“Things could easily get worse, but we are hopeful that the Bangladeshi people will rise to the challenge and build a freer and fairer world for themselves in the years to come,” Sobhan said.
The government of Hasina’s rival and predecessor, Khaleda Zia, first introduced the Information and Communications Technology Act in 2006, which regulated digital communications and restricted media freedom. This was replaced in 2018 by the tougher Digital Security Act, which is most closely associated with the media crackdown under Hasina’s government.
Critics have said clauses allowing investigations into anyone deemed a threat to the “spirit of liberation” are vaguely worded and could be used to crack down on dissent.
The Dhaka-based think tank, the Centre for Governance Studies, 7,000 lawsuits filed It includes 255 cases of punishment carried out under this law against journalists for their reporting between 2018 and 2023.
Of these, 155 journalists were charged under Article 25, which provides for the “publication or transmission of offensive, false or fear-inducing data or information,” which is punishable by three years in prison.
Another 154 people face up to five years in prison for “publishing, broadcasting or disseminating defamatory information.”
Following international criticism, the Digital Security Law was replaced last year with the Cybersecurity Law, but Amnesty International said the law was broadly identical to its predecessor.
Amnesty International this week called on the new interim government to repeal all laws that restrict freedom of expression.
“The caretaker government must reverse a long-standing tradition of stifling dissent by repealing laws such as the CSA that threaten and undermine freedom of expression, liberty and the right to privacy in Bangladesh,” said Takbir Huda, Amnesty’s South Asia researcher.
Muktadir Rashid, a journalist at the newly founded news site Bangladesh Outlook, said that at his previous job at the New Age newspaper, editors often rejected stories without explanation, and his investigations into human rights violations and extrajudicial killings led to threats from security forces.
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At one point, Rashid had to spend months abroad, fearing that the authorities would arrest him and disappear, even though he reported his movements to his family and contacts in the diplomatic mission in Dhaka.
Rashid twice Attacks by security forces While covering the recent protests, he said he is happy but has no plans to let his guard down.
“As long as we give journalists stability and confidence and there is no room for criticism, we don’t know what will happen. It’s not time to say it’s okay yet. We are in a transitional period,” he said.
“Journalists have a vital role to play in this transition because they are now free to bring to light stories that have been lost. [of the past]There is growing concern among journalists about how long this favorable climate for reporting will last.”
Press freedom group Reporters Without Borders has declared Bangladesh 15th worst country Japan to become number one in press freedom in 2024.
According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, recent student protests that began with anger over an unequal government system for allocating jobs have seen further challenges to press freedom, including a multi-day press blackout and the deaths of three journalists.
Safety concerns are not unique to journalists in Dhaka, as journalists in other parts of the country struggle to hold local authorities accountable without facing retribution.
Sumon Chowdhury, 45, a reporter in Barisal city for the national newspaper The Samakal, said he was concerned about the looting and retaliatory attacks on police and Awami League supporters over the past week but believed there was at least an opportunity now to fight for press freedom.
“We have felt a lot of freedom in the past few days, but most of the reports have been against the ousted government. We don’t know what the future holds under the new government. If they dismantle the system like the Awami League did, we will be back to square one,” Chowdhury said.
“Right now, I do not feel safe. I am witnessing this unrest unfolding before my eyes and it is unsettling to report in a country where there is no law and order. However, once this chaos subsides, I hope that the journalistic community will remain united and send a clear message to the government that journalism must be free from intimidation and corruption. MPs and senior officials must not corrupt journalists by any means.”
