New Delhi: On the occasion of World Press Freedom Day 2025, the Rights and Rights Analysis Group (RRG) released its report, “Bangladesh: Press Freedom Throttled Under Dr Muhammad Yunus,” highlighting that under the Interim Government of Dr Muhammad Yunus, the Bangladeshi press faced systematic and organised repression, and 640 journalists were targeted in the first eight months of the Interim Government from August 2024 to March 2025.
These attacks include criminal cases filed against 182 journalists, acts of violence against 206 journalists, denial of accreditation to 167 journalists, and inquiries initiated against 85 senior journalists by the Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit, the anti-terror and anti-money laundering unit of the Government of Bangladesh.
To silence the media completely, senior journalists from 39 media houses including Bangladesh Pratidin; Jatiya Press Club; DBC News; Abnews24.com; Kaler Kantha; ATN News; Bangla Insider, Bangladesh Protidin; Samakal, Amader Somoy, Baisakhi TV, Daily Sun, News24; Jugantor, Swadesh Pratidin, Dainik Mukhopatro, Ittefaq, Daily Kalbela, TV Today, Dainik Amar Somoy; Dainik Bangla, Independent24.tv, Somoynews.tv; Dhaka Times, Bangladesh Post, Nagorik TV, Sangbad Sangstha, Channel I, Daily Janakantha, Daily Global TV, Daily Jugantor; Daily Khola Kagoj, Daily Jatiya Orthoniti, Amader Somoy, Amader Orthoniti, Ekushey TV, Ekattor TV, Ekushey Sangbad and My TV were among the 85 senior journalists placed under investigation by the Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit (BFIU) for money laundering from October 2024 to January 2025.
The entire media in Bangladesh has been silenced by Dr Muhammad Yunus.
It is as if the filing of, mostly false, criminal cases against 182 journalists, acts of violence against 206 journalists, denial of accreditation to 167 journalists, and inquiries against 85 senior journalists by the Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit are not enough, the journalists have been repeatedly sacked from jobs instantly on the whims and fancies of the leaders of the Anti-Discrimination Students Movement, who have emerged as the holy cows of Bangladesh and the government ministers.
The Anti Discrimination Students Movement activists led by Hasnat Abdullah not only attacked independent dailies The Daily Star and Prothom Alo but trespassed into Somoy TV forcing the owners to sack five journalists from jobs without any ground because of the threat from the student protestors.
After newly appointed Cultural Adviser Mostofa Sarwar Farooki was asked critical queries surrounding political violence, national unity, public accountability and the number of people killed during the July-August political unrest at the Secretariat on 28 April 2025, Rahman Mizan of Deepto TV and Fazle Rabbi of ATN Bangla were summarily terminated from their positions while Rafiqul Bashar of Channel I was relieved of his duties pending an internal investigation.
“Such throttling of press freedom was unseen under any previous regime in Bangladesh and currently, an atmosphere of fear grips the journalists in Bangladesh. No critical reporting on the Interim Government or the Awami League can be done. Next to the Awami League activists, journalists face the most serious risks under Dr Yunus’s Bangladesh,” said Suhas Chakma, Director of the RRAG.
The Interim Government has given impunity to the non-state actors to attacks on the media. The RRAG found only in which action appears to have been taken i.e. attacks on Khorshed Alam, northern bureau chief of The Business Standard, Asafudoula Neon, staff correspondent at online portal Bogura Live, and Taufiqul Islam Nirab in the district’s Jailkhana intersection area on 5 April 2025 that the accused were arrested.
Otherwise, activists of the political parties and the Anti-Discrimination Students Movement seem to enjoy impunity.
“Despite such systematic and widespread attacks on the journalists and media houses which have completely throttled press freedom in Bangladesh, the key actors in the international community, especially the donor countries and financial institutions supporting so-called reforms, largely remained silent because of their jaundiced view i.e. focus on the past human rights violations by former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has blinded their views on Dr Yunus whose repression on the press freedom appears to be worse than any other previous regime in the country since 1975. This uncritical view of the international community on press freedom under Dr Yunus has already turned him into another dictator to replace deposed Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina,” Chakma said.
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The RRAG will submit the report to the UN agencies and the key actors in the international community, especially the donor countries and financial institutions for appropriate action.
