Dhaka, March 5, 2025 — In a crowded courtroom in the capital, veteran journalist Farzana Rupa stood without legal representation as a judge initiated proceedings to add yet another murder case to the growing list of charges against her. Already incarcerated, Rupa calmly requested bail, only to be told by the judge that the hearing was a mere formality.
“I already have a dozen cases piling up against me,” she said. “I’m a journalist. One murder case is enough to frame me.”
Rupa, formerly the chief correspondent of Ekattor TV, now faces nine separate murder charges. Her husband, Shakil Ahmed — who served as head of news at the same network — is named in eight. Their situation is not unique. Other leading journalists, including Shyamal Dutta and Mozammel Haque Babu, are also behind bars on similar charges, arrested over the past year in cases widely viewed as politically motivated.
The arrests come in the wake of a dramatic political shift in Bangladesh. In early 2024, following a wave of massive student-led demonstrations and the killing of two journalists during the unrest, longtime Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina stepped down and fled the country. Nobel Laureate Dr. Muhammad Yunus assumed leadership of an interim government, vowing to restore democratic norms and media freedom.
Among Yunus’s first steps was the repeal of the Cyber Security Act — a law used to suppress critical journalism during Hasina’s rule. However, his government’s commitment to press freedom has since come under scrutiny. In a November 2024 interview with The Daily Star, Yunus admitted that journalists had been hastily implicated in murder cases but assured that a committee had been formed to review such prosecutions.
Nearly a year later, that review has yielded little relief. Rupa, Ahmed, Dutta, and Babu remain imprisoned, with no trials underway and new charges continuing to emerge. Their families report being denied access to First Information Reports (FIRs), preventing them from seeking legal remedies such as bail.
A CPJ investigation revealed that journalists are often added to FIRs long after they are originally filed — a tactic that further complicates their legal defense. Shashi Dutta, daughter of journalist Shyamal Dutta, said the family is unsure how many cases her father faces. Babu’s relatives confirm at least 10 cases have been lodged against him. Rupa and Ahmed’s family claim they have not received FIRs for at least five pending cases.
“These detentions make a mockery of the interim government’s stated intention to uphold press freedom,” said Beh Lih Yi, Asia Program Director for the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ). “Genuine reform means ending the abuses of the past, not continuing them under new leadership.”
The threats to Bangladesh’s press are not limited to courtrooms. CPJ has documented at least 10 cases of violence and harassment against reporters in 2025, largely linked to supporters of the opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and its student wing, Chhatra Dal. Victims include Bahar Raihan, Abdullah Al Mahmud, and Rocky Hossain — all of whom suffered injuries or equipment loss while covering political rallies.
BNP adviser Mahdi Amin responded by suggesting such incidents are exceptions. “In a party the size of BNP, isolated acts of misconduct may occur. But we do not protect perpetrators,” he told CPJ.
Reporters covering Islamist groups such as Jamaat-e-Islami and its student wing, Islami Chhatra Shibir, have also come under pressure. Hasanat Kamal, editor of EyeNews.news, fled to the UK after he was falsely accused by Shibir of participating in violent protests. Anwar Hossain of the daily Dabanol reported receiving threats from Jamaat supporters following his investigative reports on a local leader.
Despite repeated outreach by CPJ, neither government spokesperson Shafiqul Alam nor police representative Enamul Haque Sagor responded to requests for comment.
Even as Bangladesh approaches its next general election, journalists continue to face imprisonment, intimidation, and legal ambiguity. With over 140 reporters now facing charges — including some accused of genocide — observers say the interim government’s rhetoric about press reform is increasingly at odds with its actions.
