Political crisis in Bangladesh: RSF calls on the interim government to protect journalists
Economist Muhammad Yunus, winner of the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize, landed in Dahka on Thursday, 8 August, to form an interim government amidst a violent crackdown on protests where media workers have been targeted. Five journalists have lost their lives and the facilities of nine TV channels have been attacked. Reporters Without Borders (RSF) calls on the interim government to prioritize the safety of media professionals.
On Monday, 5 August, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina resigned amidst violently repressed protests against her government. One of the top priorities for the new interim government – headed by Muhammad Yunus, winner of the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize – should be protecting the press from the outrageous violence that has been perpetrated against journalists during these deadly demonstrations. The protests, which started in July when students took to the streets to oppose a controverisal quota system for civil service jobs, has now caused over 400 deaths by AFP’s estimates. RSF has condemned these physical attacks against media professionals, which have killed five journalists and injured 250, according to local media. The facilities of at least nine TV stations have been vandalized, according to RSF’s information.
"RSF condemns the repression that has specifically targeted journalists during the protests in Bangladesh. According to our information, the police and supporters of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina are largely responsible for the violence against media professionals, which in some cases has led to their deaths. These attacks must stop, along with any counter-attacks carried out by protestors against media outlets allegedly affiliated with the former prime minister. The role of journalists is more essential than ever during this decisive period for the country’s future. RSF calls on the interim government to protect journalists and bring those responsible for the violence to justice."
At least 432 people, including five journalists, have lost their lives in the crackdown on protests according to an estimate by AFP. On Sunday August 4, Pradip Kumar Bhowmik, correspondent for the daily Khoborpatra in the Sirajganj region, was the latest journalist to lose his life in the ongoing protests. He was killed in clashes at a press club in the northern town of Raiganj. Before Kumar, Mehedi Hasan, journalist with the news website Dhaka Times, was shot in the head on 18 July while covering clashes between protesters and police in a southern district of the capital. On the same day, Shakil Hossain, an employee of the daily Bhorer Awaj, was killed while reporting in the town of Gazipur, north of Dhaka. On July 19, Abu Taher Md Turab, who worked for the newspapers Daily Naya Diganta and Daily Jalalabad, died under police bullets in the town of Sylhet, and Tahir Zaman Priyo, videojournalist for the website TheReport.live, was killed by law enforcement officers in the middle of a rally in the capital.
Targeted for their journalism
Several TV stations were targeted by anti-government protesters amid a spate of violence committed mainly in clashes between police and demonstrators. On August 5 and 6, at least nine private channels saw their headquarters ransacked — some were set on fire — which forced them to interrupt their broadcasting. These stations, Ekattor TV, Somoy TV, Independent Television, My TV, Bijoy TV, DBC News, ATN News, ATN Bangla and Gaan Bangla, may have been targeted by protestors who believe these outlets support the former prime minister and her party, the Awami League.
A journalist from one of the aforementioned TV channels told RSF via encrypted messaging from an undisclosed location that she had to leave her home to escape death threats. Her name appears on a "wanted list" that has been made public by Islamist militants who are acting out after years of being marginalized by Sheikh Hasina's Awami League.
The prime minister’s fifteen years of autocratic rule leave a very bleak legacy when it comes to press freedom. The proportion of the Bangladeshi population with access to the Internet has exploded in the past decade, rising from 4.5% in 2011 to 38.9% in 2021 according to the World Bank, yet in January, the government passed a draconian cybersecurity law that muzzled online journalists. In 2021, Sheikh Hasina figured on RSF’s list of 37 “press freedom predators.”
Between 2023 and 2024, Bangladesh dropped from 163rd to 165th place out of 180 countries in RSF’s World Press Freedom Index.
