Bangladesh journalist arrested, 2 charged under Digital Security Act
On June 7, 2022, police in the Bangladesh town of Rangamati, in the southeastern Chittagong division, arrested Fazle Alahi, editor of the privately owned newspaper Dainik Parbatto and the privately owned news website Pahar24, under the Digital Security Act, according to news reports and the journalist, who spoke with CPJ by phone. A Rangamati magistrate…
Journalists stabbed, assaulted in Bangladesh
New York, May 18, 2022– Bangladesh authorities must conduct a swift and transparent investigation into two separate attacks on journalist Md Rashid Chowdhury and bystander Jashim Uddin, and on journalists Azim Nihad, Rahul Mahajan, and Lokman Halim, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Wednesday. On the evening of Friday, May 13, a group of teenagers…
Bangladeshi journalist Mohiuddin Sarker Nayeem shot and killed
New York, April 19, 2022 – Bangladesh authorities must conduct a swift and impartial investigation into the killing of journalist Mohiuddin Sarker Nayeem and ensure that the perpetrators are brought to justice, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Tuesday. On April 13, alleged narcotics dealers shot and killed Nayeem, a reporter for the privately owned…
CPJ joins call for Bangladesh authorities to withdraw proposed internet regulations
On March 7, 2022, the Committee to Protect Journalists joined 43 other press freedom, digital rights, and civil society groups in a letter calling on Bangladesh’s communications regulator to withdraw new proposed policies that could stifle free expression online. A package of proposed regulations, titled the “Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission Regulation for Digital, Social Media…
Bangladeshi journalist Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury faces Digital Security Act proceedings
On May 6, 2021, Shahana Rashid Sanu, a poet and literary writer, filed a complaint against Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury, editor of the tabloid Weekly Blitz, at the Dhaka Cyber Tribunal, pointing to eight articles published on its website, which accused Sanu and her sons of engaging in criminal and anti-government activities, according to a…
‘Completely unclear’: Mushtaq Ahmed’s lawyer seeks answers on how the Bangladeshi writer died in jail
One year after renowned Bangladeshi writer Mushtaq Ahmed died in jail, the circumstances of his death remain murky. While an investigative committee formed by the Home Ministry claimed he died of “natural causes,” his former lawyer Jyotirmoy Barua believes that Ahmed may have died of health issues that arose after alleged torture. In May 2020, the Rapid Action Battalion,…
Bangladeshi journalist Mamunur Rashid Nomani harassed following 2020 assault, detention
On September 12, 2020, Mamunur Rashid Nomani, chief news editor of privately owned The Daily Shahnama newspaper and editor of the privately owned news website Barisal Khabar, was severely assaulted and detained by local officials and political operatives in the south-central city of Barisal, according to news reports and Nomani, who spoke to CPJ by…
Exiled Bangladeshi journalist Kanak Sarwar says sister’s detention won’t silence him
For years, exiled Bangladeshi journalist Kanak Sarwar advised his family members not to keep public profiles on Facebook, fearing his critical reporting would lead to harassment by supporters of the Awami League-led government. So he was alarmed when his sister, Nusrat Shahrin Raka, told him in September that someone had created a fake Facebook account…
Why the UN’s push for a cybercrime treaty could imperil journalists simply for using the internet
Cybercrime is on the global agenda as a United Nations committee appointed to develop a treaty on the topic plans for its first meeting amid pandemic-related delays. The process is slated to take at least two years, but experts warn that such a treaty – initially proposed by Russia – could hand new tools to…