Brussels
A briefing note prepared by JusticeMakers Bangladesh in France (JMBF) raises concerns about criminal cases, detention, attacks and restrictions affecting journalists and human rights defenders in Bangladesh since the change of government in August 2024.
Dated October 16, 2026, the document identifies Advocate Shahanur Islam, JMBF’s founder president, as its author. Its cover names Fausto Matos, a cabinet member in the office of European Commission Executive Vice-President Henna Virkkunen, as the intended recipient.
Concerns over cases and detention
In a section devoted to journalists, writers and human rights defenders, JMBF cites a BBC Bangla report dated May 3, 2026, drawing on figures attributed to MSF. According to the briefing’s account, 268 journalists were accused in 37 cases between August 2024 and April 2026, and 14 were arrested.
The briefing says families and lawyers described repeated adjournments, obstacles to bail and arrests in additional cases. These accounts and figures have not been independently verified for this article.
It also cites figures attributed to Ain o Salish Kendra (ASK), which reportedly recorded 381 journalists subjected to abuse or harassment in 2025. The incidents described include threats, cases linked to reporting or opinions, and attacks at work.
Call for review of proceedings
JMBF highlights proceedings involving writer and human rights defender Shahriar Kabir and journalists Farzana Rupa and Mozammel Haque Babu.
The organisation characterises certain charges as politically motivated and calls for their withdrawal, alongside the release of those concerned. Those characterisations represent JMBF’s position, not findings established by this article.
The briefing also raises concerns about access to medical treatment in detention and calls for specialist care where needed.
Allegations of restrictions on reporting
The document references a separate JMBF report dated September 1, 2026, concerning what the organisation describes as a decline in domestic mainstream coverage of certain issues from late October 2024.
JMBF attributes that decline to instructions conveyed through journalists, editors and intermediaries. The supplied pages do not include the underlying evidence needed to independently assess that allegation.
The briefing calls for restrictions on independent reporting to be lifted, attacks and reprisals to be investigated, and cases involving journalists and defenders to receive prompt judicial review based on individual evidence.
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