Dhaka – International media freedom advocacy group Committee to Protect Journalist has urged Bangladesh’s interim administration to protect press freedom as dozens of journalists, as the group says, perceived to be supporter of ousted former prime minister Sheikh Hasina was facing “police investigation in apparent retaliation for their work.
The group made the call in a letter to Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus on Monday, three days after the interim administration, in its latest move, revoked press credentials of some 118 journalists working for national and international media outlets.
Press credentials of some 50 other journalists were revoked in two previous moves in late October and early November – the moves were seen by the rights groups as a threat to independent journalism in Bangladesh.
“I am writing to respectfully urge your leadership to ensure that Bangladesh takes action to protect these fundamental rights, which are explicitly enshrined in the country’s constitution and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which Bangladesh is a state party,” said Jodie Ginsberg, the CEO of CPJ, in the letter written to Yunus.
The CPJ welcomed Bangladesh’s move to repeal the controversial cyber security law, enacted by the previous government of Sheikh Hasina.
The law was passed in 2023 and replaced the Digital Security Act, which was repeatedly used to crack down on journalists under the previous government, said the CPJ letter.
It urged the interim administration to impose immediate moratorium on repressive laws that undermine Bangladesh’s constitutional obligation to protect freedom of expression and press freedom. The laws include criminal defamation of the Penal Code and the Colonial era Official Secrets Act of 1923.
Among other suggestions, the rights group urged the government to facilitate the withdrawal or dismissal of hundreds of criminal cases lodged against journalists in retaliation for their work, ensure that the four arrested pro-Awami League journalists get justice, and ensure prompt, independent, and transparent investigations into recent attacks and violence against the press.
@newsnextbd.com
