Bangladesh: RSF condemns the outrageous charges of crimes against humanity brought against at least 25 journalists
On August 29, no fewer than 25 journalists were charged with crimes against humanity for the death of a protester in July. The list of journalists includes Farzana Rupa and Shakil Ahmed, who have already been charged with the murder of other demonstrators and are currently behind bars. Reporters Without Borders (RSF) calls for their immediate release and for these unfounded charges to be dropped. This systematic judicial harassment of journalists must end.
The complaint lodged on 29 August for crimes against humanity marks a new stage in the series of lawsuits targeting media professionals that have emerged over the past ten days. This time, at least 25 journalists are targeted in a case examined by the International Crimes Tribunal, a special court set up in 1973 to judge abuses committed during Bangladesh's war of independence.
Farzana Rupa and Shakil Ahmed, the journalist couple recently dismissed from Ekattor TV, a TV channel deemed sympathetic to the former government, are among the media professionals named in the case, as is the recently ousted former prime minister, Sheikh Hasina. To date, they are the only journalists named in this case that are in detention. According to RSF's information, most of the media professionals named in the complaint have left their homes for fear of arrest.
"The purge of journalists who are considered to be affiliated with the former government has reached a new level. Media professionals are bearing the brunt of the need for vengeance that permeates this terrible legal cabal, which is hurting the image of the political transition underway in Bangladesh. The interim authorities, headed by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Muhammad Yunus, must do everything in their power to end this vicious process. Farzana Rupa and Shakil Ahmed must be released immediately. All charges against journalists must be dropped.
Here are the editors, columnists and TV presenters named in the case:
- Abed Khan, former editor-in-chief of the newspaper Dainik Samakal
- Ahmed Zobair, CEO and director of the private 24-hour news channel Somoy TV
- Ajoy Dasgupta, former deputy editor-in-chief, Dainik Samakal
- Ashish Saikat, News director of the private news channel Independent Television
- Farida Yasmin, President of the Jatiya Press Club, the national journalists' union
- Farzana Rupa, presenter, Ekattor TV
- Iqbal Sobhan Chowdhury, founder and editor-in-chief, Daily Observer
- Joy E Mamun, former news director of the private channel ATN Bangla (Asian Television Network)
- Manash Ghosh, News director of the private channel Asian TV
- Mohammed Manzurul Islam, Editor-in-chief, DBC News (Dhaka Bangla Media & Communication)
- Mozammel Babu, Managing editor, Ekattor TV
- Munni Saha, former news director of the private news channel ATN News
- Nobonita Chowdhury, presenter and program director at Bangladeshi NGO BRAC
- Naem Nizam, Editor-in-chief of the daily newspaper Bangladesh Pratidin
- Pranab Saha, Editor-in-chief, DBC News
- Probash Amin, former news director, ATN News
- Saiful Alam, editor-in-chief of the newspaper Dainik Jugantor
- Shakil Ahmed, News director, Ekattor TV
- Shyamal Dutta, Editor-in-chief of the daily newspaper Bhorer Kagoj
- Shyamal Sarkar, journalist at the daily newspaper Ittefaq
- Soma Islam presenter at Channel i and president of the Reporters' Forum for Election and Democracy (RFED)
- Subhash Singha Roy, journalist and political analyst
- Swadesh Roy, journalist for the newspaper Dainik Janakantha
- Tushar Abdullah, news director of Ekhon TV’s financial channel
- Zayadul Ahsan Pintu, journalist, DBC News
Four ongoing investigations against journalists
In addition to this vast legal complaint for crimes against humanity, on 28 August three other journalists – along with former prime minister Hasina – were named in another case concerning the murder of a protester. The police had not yet issued any arrest warrants, however, at the time of this writing.
The complaint accuses Mahmudul Alam Noyon, correspondent for the newspaper Dainik Janakantha in the northwestern city of Bogra and vice-president of the Bangladesh Federal Union of Journalists (BFUJ); Hasibur Rahman Bilu, head of the local bureau of the news channel Independent Television; and J. M. Rauf, correspondent for the newspaper Dainik Kaler Kantho and president of the local journalists' union, of playing a role in the death of a protester named Mohammad Shimul.
The murder charges against the three journalists come on the heels of three cases already underway against media professionals, including the couple Farzana Rupa and Shakil Ahmed as well as four other journalists.
The current targeting of media professionals appears to be a continuation of the anti-journalist sentiment that marked Hasina's reign. In February 2023, correspondent J. M. Rauf, named in one of the latest murder cases, was physically attacked by supporters of the Awami League, Hasina's party. During her last months in power, Bangladesh ranked 165th out of 180 countries in RSF's 2024 World Press Freedom Index.
