398 cases of attack on journalists registered in B’desh in a year: Report

Dhaka: The continuous incidents of harassment of journalists in Bangladesh have exposed the grim reality of the situation that the South Asian nation is facing under the Muhammad Yunus-led interim government, according to local media reports.

The world is celebrating World Press Freedom Day 2025, with a theme, ‘Reporting in the Brave New World — The Impact of Artificial Intelligence on Press Freedom and the Media’.

The Dhaka-based rights group Ain O Salish Kendra (ASK), in its recent data, revealed that a total of 398 incidents of attack and harassment of journalists were reported from August 2024 to March 2025, with 82 incidents reported in February and March.

The data indicated that 40 incidents were reported in March, another 40 in February, and 20 incidents in January.

Meanwhile, on Friday, ASK expressed serious concern over the recent dismissal of three TV journalists, the naming of at least 137 journalists as accused in connection with the July uprising last year, and, additionally, the filing of attempted murder cases against cultural activists.

“The beauty of any society lies in the recognition of its citizens’ fundamental rights. When those rights are curtailed by law or influence, it is considered persecution,” said the rights body.

ASK said that the current measures of the interim government to protect media and cultural activists appear inadequate, adding that such incidents are contrary to good governance and human rights,” the leading Bangladeshi newspaper, The Daily Star, reported

Furthermore, the recent report of the leading media watchdog group, Reporters Without Borders (RSF), highlighted that after the regime change, nearly 140 journalists viewed as aligned with former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s government faced “extremely grave but baseless accusations of killing protesters.”

Twenty-five were charged with “crimes against humanity,” forcing many into hiding to avoid arrest and imprisonment, according to RSF.

“Many journalists are facing murder cases reportedly aligned with Sheikh Hasina’s government. Many of them may be involved in corruption and other offences. Cases should be filed with specific allegations, but not framed in wholesale murder cases,” said Dhaka Union of Journalists former president Sohel Haider, speaking to a leading daily, New Age.

In a report in January, Human Rights Watch called out the wholesale prosecution of journalists under the Yunus regime.

“While it is critical that those who were involved in commanding, aiding, and abetting the grave crimes committed during the uprising are held to account, mass cases against journalists for not backing the protesters send a dangerous message for freedom of expression under the interim government,” the report said.

IANS