Freedom of the press in Bangladesh refers to the censorship and endorsement on public opinions, fundamental rights, freedom of expression, human rights, explicitly mass media such as the print, broadcast and online media as described or mentioned in the constitution of Bangladesh. The country's press is legally regulated by the certain amendments, while the sovereignty, national integrity and sentiments are generally protected by the law of Bangladesh to maintain a hybrid legal system for independent journalism and to protect fundamental rights of the citizens in accordance with secularism and media law. [1] In Bangladesh, media bias and disinformation is restricted under the certain constitutional amendments as described by the country's post-independence constitution.
The Penal Code, one of the criminal codes deals with the media crime, which according to the law may be applicable to all substantive aspects of criminal law. [2] The digital and offline communications such as print, television, radio, and internet are exercised under a set of provisions such as Information and Communication Technologies Act, Digital Security Act and Broadcast Act, which in particular deals with press-related issues, including arrest without warrant. It allows a journalist or media industries to publish news stories without impacting national security of the country. [3]
In 2020, Reporters Without Borders, a non-government organisations deducted to safeguard independent journalism, published Press Freedom Index, an annual report indicating decline in press freedom of Bangladesh. The country's ranking dropped to 151 out of 180 following the persistent violations of human rights, involving alleged prosecutions, arrests of journalists and restricting media industries to access certain information, including elections. Bangladesh's press freedom ranking was primarily declined due to several other issues such as "violence by political activists", arbitrary blocking of news publishers, self-censorship, restricting some news media from attending government press conferences, arbitrary arrest and detention, physical attacks carried out against journalists by political activists, including by Awami League headed by Sheikh Hasina, 10th prime minister of Bangladesh in office since 2009. [4] [5] In 2018, the country's rank was 146. [6]
The government of Bangladesh is claimed to have been involved in direct and self-censorship after introducing Digital Security Act in 2018 which has been a subject of dispute between government and non-government organisations. In 2020, the enforcement agencies detained at least 20 journalists along with 60 other people under the law for alleged social media posts. [7]
A Bangladeshi journalist Shafiqul Islam Kajol who disappeared for 53 days [8] after criticising sex trafficking by ruling political party's official was according to the human rights activists forcibly disappeared before he was sentenced seven years in jail under the Digital Security Act. Odhikar, a Bangladeshi human rights organisation alleged the law has primarily been exercised by businessmen and politicians. [9] [10]
Bangladesh authorities blocked 54 news websites, including opposition party's web portal and Al Jazeera , a foreign broadcaster over security issues. [11] On 1 June 2018, the government also blocked the online edition of The Daily Star newspaper. [12]
The leaders have consistently upheld the personality cult during the past election campaigns. The journalists and human rights activists in the country are argued to have experienced troubles since Awami League came into power. In 2018 general election, the opposition political partys' agents were restricted to attend the pooling stations. The violence between opposition and ruling political party activists killed at least 17 people. [13] In June 2020, the authorities detained a 15 years old child for sharing a "defamatory" Facebook posts which according to the government was an attempt to defame Sheikh Hasina. [14]
While supporting the regime, Bangladeshi media reports are often one-sided and exaggerated, playing little or no role in gathering true information. Although, fake news is regarded one of the media crimes, the government itself is argued engaged in spreading false information. Sometimes, only news that favours ruling parties is published by the government-sponsored media, whilst news that criticises government actions experience threats. [15]
The government, according to news media is argued providing propaganda on its platform. The independent newspapers running in the country reportedly spread false information amid COVID-19 pandemic, leading detention of journalists. [16]
During the Sheikh Hasina regime, from 2018 to 2023, law enforcement agencies and Awami League men have harassed and assaulted the relatives of journalists on multiple occasions.
In April 2020, some members of Bangladesh's military intelligence DGFI visited the house of Naznin Khalil, mother of the editor of Netra News, Tasneem Khalil to question her about her son's journalistic activities and allegedly banged the door when she refused to open. [17]
In October 2021, U.S.-sanctioned Bangladeshi force RAB raided the home of Nusrat Sarwar Raka, sister of exiled journalist Dr Kanak Sarwar in capital Dhaka and arrested her. Later the police pressed two charges against her and locked her up in jail for almost a year. [18]
In March, 2023, Awami League's armed cadres, loyal to Sheikh Hasina beaten the brother of Al-Jazeera I-Unit journalist Zulkarnain Saer Khan in front of his home in Dhaka. The attacker, while attacking, said, “Your brother writes against the prime minister, against the government? He’s a journalist? Now you’ll see.” [19] Zulkarnain Saer Khan exposed the corruption of Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in the Al-Jazeera documentary All the Prime Minister's Men in 2022 and led an investigation against Sheikh Hasina's close aide Abdus Sobhan Golap's corruption who secretly bought nine properties of 4 million USD in the New York. [20]
Politics of Bangladesh takes place in a framework of a parliamentary representative democratic republic, whereby the Prime Minister of Bangladesh is the head of government, and of a multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested in both the government and parliament. The Constitution of Bangladesh was written in 1972 and has undergone seventeen amendments.
The Bangladesh Awami League, often simply called the Awami League or AL, is one of the major political parties in Bangladesh, being the ruling party of Bangladesh since 2009.
Sheikh Hasina Wazed is a Bangladeshi politician who has served as the tenth Prime Minister of Bangladesh since January 2009. Hasina was among Time's 100 most influential people in the world in 2018.
Human rights in Bangladesh are enshrined as fundamental rights in Part III of the Constitution of Bangladesh. However, constitutional and legal experts believe many of the country's laws require reform to enforce fundamental rights and reflect democratic values of the 21st century.
Sajeeb Ahmed Wazed, also known as Sajeeb Wazed Joy, is a Bangladeshi businessman and politician. He is a member of the Awami League and serves as Advisor to the Government of Bangladesh on Information and Communication Technology.
Mahfuz Anam is a Bangladeshi journalist. He serves as editor and publisher of The Daily Star, one of Bangladesh's largest circulating English-language newspapers. After working in the United Nations for 14 years, Anam co-founded the newspaper with his mentor Syed Mohammad Ali in 1991 during Bangladesh's democratic transition. His criticism of the country's two largest political parties and the military has often resulted in him being sued in court; Anam dismisses the charges as attacks on press freedom. He was elected for a second term as chairman of the Asia News Network in 2022 and 2023.
The history of Bangladesh (1971–present) refers to the period after the independence of Bangladesh from Pakistan.
Censorship in Bangladesh refers to the government censorship of the press and infringement of freedom of speech. Article 39 of the constitution of Bangladesh protects free speech.
General elections were held in Bangladesh on 5 January 2014, in accordance with the constitutional requirement that elections must take place within the 90-day period before the expiration of the term of the Jatiya Sangshad on 24 January 2014.
Tasneem Khalil is an exiled Bangladeshi journalist. He is Editor in chief of Netra News. He previously worked for The Daily Star and was a stringer for CNN and a consultant for Human Rights Watch. During the 2006–2008 Bangladesh emergency, he was detained on 11 May 2007 and tortured while in the custody of Bangladesh's intelligence service. Khalil currently lives in Örebro, Sweden, where he is publisher and editor of Independent World Report, a world news magazine focused on human rights issues.
The Shapla Square protests also known as Operation Shapla or Operation Flash Out by security forces refers to the protests, and subsequent shootings, of 5 and 6 May 2013 at Shapla Square located in the Motijheel district, the main financial area of Dhaka, Bangladesh. The protests were organized by the Islamist pressure group, Hefazat-e Islam, who were demanding the enactment of a blasphemy law. The government responded to the protests by cracking down on the protesters using a combined force drawn from the police, Rapid Action Battalion and paramilitary Border Guard Bangladesh to drive the protesters out of Shapla Square.
General elections were held in Bangladesh on 30 December 2018 to elect 300 directly-elected members of the Jatiya Sangsad. The result was another landslide victory for the Awami League-led Grand Alliance led by Sheikh Hasina.
Operation Clean Heart was an anti crime operation carried out by Bangladesh Army, Bangladesh Navy, Bangladesh Rifles, Bangladesh Police and Bangladesh Ansar members in Bangladesh. The operation was carried by the government of Bangladesh headed by the Bangladesh Nationalist Party.
Special Powers Act, 1974 is a law of Bangladesh. The law allows the government of Bangladesh to detain people indefinitely without charging them with anything.
Democracy in Bangladesh was first introduced when the British ruled South Asia from 1700 to 1947, where Bangladesh was among the first British colonies in the subcontinent. It was then where the Westminster style of democracy was introduced that was prevalent in Britain at the time. Since Bangladesh achieved its independence on 26 March 1971 from Pakistan, Bangladesh introduced parliamentary democracy into its political system; however, a military coup in 1975 halted the process. It was restored in 1991 through a constitutional amendment.
The National Unity Process is a political initiative in Bangladesh launched by Dr. Kamal Hossain, a long-standing proponent of a period of national unity government for political reform in the country. The initiative has received support from major opposition parties. The aim of the initiative has been to pressure the Awami League government of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to hold a free and fair election in December 2018 with the participation of all major political parties. The previous general election in Bangladesh, held in 2014, was boycotted by major opposition parties and was not deemed credible by the United States, the United Kingdom, the European Union and the United Nations.
Serniabat Sadiq Abdullah is a Bangladeshi politician and businessman. He served as mayor of the Barisal City Corporation from 2018 to 2023. He is a son of Awami League politician Abul Hasanat Abdullah and grandson of Abdur Rab Serniabat.
Netra News is a Sweden-based investigative and public interest journalism platform focusing on Bangladesh. The platform was launched on Dec. 26, 2019, by Tasneem Khalil, an exiled Bangladeshi journalist currently living in Sweden, who acts as its editor-in chief.
The Digital Security Act, 2018, amended as Cyber Security Act in 2023, is a digital security law in Bangladesh. This act was passed with the aim of preventing the spread of racism; sectarianism; extremism; terrorist propaganda; and hatred against religious or ethnic minorities through social media, print media or any other electronic media. Any content over the internet or any other media that was deemed pornographic or otherwise inappropriate by the government could be punished by fines or prison terms of various lengths. It is a controversial law and it was feared that the law could be used to suppress dissenters against the government due to some of its provisions that are vague and ambiguous, open to interpretation or prone to abuse. This law has been used to sue and arrest journalists, activists and also cyber criminals. It has been described as a "Draconian" law.
General elections are scheduled to be held in Bangladesh in January 2024 under the auspices of the 2024 Bangladesh Election Commission, the official body responsible for ensuring free and fair elections in the country.