THE arrest of journalists is a worrying reminder of the authoritarian legacy of the fallen Awami League regime and a departure from the Bangladesh Nationalist Party’s electoral promises of media freedom. The acting editor of the daily Agrajatra Pratidin was arrested and sent to jail on June 19 on allegations of reporting defamatory news about the state minister for local government, also lawmaker for Bogura 2 constituency. The report in question, printed on front pages of a number of newspapers and discussed in parliament, concerns the highest road and bridge allocation in the state minister’s constituency, with a large share of the work reportedly distributed to his son and BNP-linked contractors. The state minister has also been criticised for rerenaming schools in his constituency after his name and renaming two newly formed unions after his sons. Since the arrest, the state minister has offered an apology, urging restraints and disputing the allegations against him, while the prime minister has instructed district administrators to follow policy in renaming unions. However, cautionary remarks after the arrest of a journalist are not sufficient as the incident reflects a continued political environment in which reporting on ruling party people carries the risk of legal harassment.
There are other instances of legal harassment of journalists that follow the same pattern used under the Awami League, involving the abuse of legal processes. Senior journalist Azahar Ali Sarker was shown arrested on June 18 in an anti-terrorism case, a month after he had obtained interim bail from the High Court. His family members alleged that, despite suffering from multiple life-threatening illnesses, he was not released during the period after his bail, which they thought amounted to the contempt of court. The police have shown him arrested in the case in which broadcast journalist Monjurul Alam Panna was also arrested and has since been released on bail. Many have expressed concern that although the repressive provisions of the Cyber Security Act have been repealed, an adversarial attitude towards reporting persists, with the continued use of the Anti-Terrorism Act and defamation laws to suppress journalism. Partisan influence, particularly the ruling party’s hold over press clubs and journalist organisations, also persists. The plaintiff in the case against journalists of the Agrajata Pratidin, the elected treasurer of the Bogra Press Club reportedly has connection with the local BNP units.
The government should, therefore, should take steps to prevent the harassment of journalists so that they can play their role as the fourth estate, holding those in power accountable. The information ministry should also establish guidelines on how to address misinformation and provide proper channels, such as the Press Council, for disputing contentious reports. The ruling party should abandon the previous regime’s practice of using legal harassment to curtail press freedom.
