![]() Only a few newspapers trying to act freely are under immense government pressure that they have no scope to criticize any government misdeed.” Siddiqui added: “There is no press freedom in Bangladesh now as all TV channels are mostly controlled by people belonging to the ruling Awami League party. “Bangladeshi journalists are among the first collateral victims of the hardening of power in the Awami League since 2009,” reported the local New Age daily, citing the report. In the World Press Freedom Index 2020 released by Reporters Without Borders in April, Bangladesh ranked 151 out of 180 countries in the world. Media rights group Freedom of Expression, Bangladesh (FExB) in a report last week, said nearly two dozen journalists in Bangladesh were attacked, intimidated, harassed, or arrested for reporting on pilfering, corruption and lack of accountability in food aid meant for poor people during the nationwide coronavirus lockdown since March 26. “Recent cases against journalists, including a prominent newspaper editor, a journalist who was tortured, and a newspaper editor feared to be a victim of enforced disappearance are chilling reminders that freely expressing one’s views in Bangladesh can come at a very high cost.” “Journalists in Bangladesh are being silenced under the draconian Digital Security Act,” said Saad Hammadi, South Asia Campaigner at Amnesty International. In a report published this March, Amnesty International said that more than 1,000 cases have so far been filed under this act in Bangladesh. Now journalists hardly dare report on any issue that may go against the interest of the government.”Īmid massive opposition by journalists and rights activists, Bangladesh passed the Digital Security Act in October 2018 amid concerns that it might go against the spirit of the country’s constitution, putting restrictions on freedom of speech and freedom of expression. Pointing to various clauses of the act, Siddiqui added: “The authoritarian Aawami League government under Sheikh Hasina enacted the law with the ill motive of curbing the minimum scope of free journalism. “Under this draconian and controversial act, any police official even with normal rank has been given the power to arrest any journalist or harass any media outlet under the petty excuse of spreading rumor against the government,” Rezwan Siddiqui, editor of local Dainik Dinkal daily, told Anadolu Agency. The media in Bangladesh is again in the spotlight for Sunday’s World Press Freedom Day amid worries over how a controversial new law might impact freedom of expression and the country’s mass media. ![]()
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