Charges dropped against Bangladeshi reporter but eight others await end to judicial ordeals
Following the decision to finally drop baseless three-year-old spying charges against a leading investigative reporter, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) calls on the Bangladeshi authorities to dismiss proceedings against at least seven other journalists currently charged in connection with their work, and to overturn the prison sentence imposed on a journalist who fled the country.
An award-winning investigative reporter for the Bengali-language daily Prothom Alo, Rozina Islam told RSF she is already thinking about “the battles that still need waging” after the judicial nightmare that had dragged on for three years and three months finally ended with the decision by a judge, announced on 14 August, to dismiss the case against her.
“I want to continue my work as a journalist,” she told RSF, despite the unrest in Bangladesh since Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina resigned and fled the country on 5 August and a surge in violence against media personnel.
Arrested in May 2021 in connection with her investigative reporting on the Bangladeshi health ministry, Islam was freed on bail a week later but, until last week, had remained subject to a charge under the Official Secrets Act that carries a possible death sentence, and to scrutiny by the Bureau of Investigation, which had seized her passport.
“After the three years that Rozina Islam spent under threat of a death sentence, the end of these grossly unjust proceedings is a huge relief for this journalist, her family and press freedom defenders. This decision must mark a change of direction in Bangladesh. The interim government led by economist Muhammad Yunus must do more to end the 15-year clampdown on the media under Sheikh Hasina. We call for an end to the unjust proceedings against all other journalists.
One journalist convicted, at least seven others charged
Now living in exile, Pathargata News journalist Bashir Akon, was sentenced to three years in prison under the Digital Security Act in June. Adopted in 2018, this law buttressed the existing information and communication technology law and has become the main legislative weapon for harassing journalists. It was further reinforced by the Cyber-Security Act in 2023.
According to RSF’s tally, at least seven other journalists are currently the subject of judicial proceedings under these online security laws:
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Golam Mujtaba Dhruba, a reporter for the Bdnews24.com website: arrested in 2017 and freed on bail
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Shahidul Alam, a press photographer: arrested in 2018 and freed on bail
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Henry Swapan, a columnist and reporter: arrested in 2019 and freed on bail
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Shafiqul Islam Kajol, a press photographer: abducted and jailed in 2020, he has lived abroad since his release on bail
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Sushanta Dasgupta, a journalist with the daily Amar Habiganj: charged and jailed in 2020, he has lived abroad since his release on bail
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Shamsuzzaman Shams, a journalist with the daily Prothom Alo: charged in 2023 and then freed on bail
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Matiur Rahman, editor and publisher of the daily Prothom Alo: charged in 2023 and then freed on bail
According to Bangladesh’s Centre for Governance Studies, a total of 255 journalists have been charged in connection with their journalistic work under the 2018 Digital Security Act. Bangladesh is ranked 165th out of 180 countries in RSF's 2024 World Press Freedom Index, two places lower than in 2023.
