Prothom Alo, Bangladesh’s largest daily newspaper is the latest media platform to come under increasing attack including intimidation, harassment and arrest of journalists signalling a deepening crisis for press freedom in the country, said Amnesty International today.
Bangladesh prime minister Sheikh Hasina on Monday called Prothom Alo ‘an enemy of the Awami League, democracy, and the people of Bangladesh,’ while speaking in Parliament, with reference to an article published by the media outlet on the Independence Day of the country, covering the cost of living in Bangladesh.
The journalist who wrote the article, Sharmsuzzaman Shams was arrested and charged under the country’s draconian Digital Security Act (DSA) and was later granted bail. The editor of Prothom Alo, Matiur Rahman was sued under the DSA and named as the main accused in one of the two cases against Shams.
Hours after the Prime Minister’s statement, a group of individuals barged into Prothom Alo’s office in the capital city of Dhaka, issued threats and vandalized its logo in the reception by writing ‘boycott’ over it.
“This is the latest in a series of attacks by the government of Bangladesh threatening press freedom in the country. Penalizing a media outlet, publisher or journalist solely for being critical of the government or the policies it promotes is a restriction of the right to freedom of expression that can never be justified. The attacks on Prothom Alo which has the largest daily circulation come close on the heels of the closure of Daily Dinkal, the only newspaper belonging to the main opposition party last month,” said Yamini Mishra, regional director for South Asia at Amnesty International.
“The use of the draconian Digital Security Act on journalists and attacks on some of the largest news publications in the country together indicate a worrying trend towards repression and a downward spiral of the right to freedom of expression in Bangladesh.”
A senior news editor from Bangladesh speaking to Amnesty International described the government’s crackdown on Prothom Alo as a deliberate campaign ‘to create an atmosphere of terror ahead of the general elections.’
On 31 March 2023, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk called on Bangladesh to impose an immediate moratorium on the use of DSA until it is reformed to ensure compliance with international human rights law. The Commissioner expressed concern that the DSA ‘is being used across Bangladesh to arrest, harass and intimidate journalists and human rights defenders, and to muzzle critical voices online.
