{"id":5005,"date":"2023-04-25T12:57:57","date_gmt":"2023-04-25T12:57:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.saperspectives.net\/?p=5005"},"modified":"2023-04-26T03:36:31","modified_gmt":"2023-04-26T03:36:31","slug":"bangladeshs-top-newspaper-targeted-for-challenging-government-narrative","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.saperspectives.net\/old\/bangladeshs-top-newspaper-targeted-for-challenging-government-narrative\/","title":{"rendered":"Bangladesh’s top newspaper targeted for challenging government narrative"},"content":{"rendered":"[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]\n
\n

Bangladesh\u2019s top newspaper Prothom Alo has come under attacks from the government and the ruling party following reports that challenge Sheikh Hasina government\u2019s development narrative.<\/p>\n

On March 29, Shamsuzzaman Shams, a reporter of Prothom Alo was picked up in the dark of the night from his house by plainclothes and then he was shown arrested in a case filed in the same night under the draconian Digital Security Act.<\/p>\n

The journalist was arrested over a report about rising food prices and people\u2019s inability to have proper meals. \u201cWhat is the use of this freedom if we can\u2019t afford rice?\u201d one labourer was quoted as saying in the report that was published on the Independence Day of the country.<\/p>\n

The cost of food has soared in Bangladesh since the middle of 2022 following Russia\u2019s invasion of Ukraine. Its currency, the taka, has fallen sharply against the US dollar.<\/p>\n

The reporter was charged with \u201csmearing the image of the government with false news\u201d and for raising questions about the achievements of Bangladesh, according to a copy of the case file obtained by Agence France-Presse.<\/p>\n

On the same day another case was filed against the editor of Prothom Alo by a ruling Awami party leader over the report. Later the two journalists were granted bail in the court.<\/p>\n

On April 10, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina blasted against the newspaper as she was quoted as saying: \u201cProthom Alo is the enemy of Awami League, the enemy of democracy, and the enemy of the country’s people. I am saying with regret that they [Prothom Alo] never want to permit any stability in this country.”<\/p>\n

Immediately after Hasina\u2019s verbal attacks on the newspaper, a group of ruling party activists stormed the Prothom Alo office and harassed the security personnel at the gate. They also threatened to \u2018set fire in the office\u2019 and vandalized its logo in the reception by writing \u2018boycott\u2019 over it.<\/p>\n

Under Sheikh Hasina, in power since 2009, the south Asian nation of 170 million people is becoming increasingly authoritarian.<\/p>\n

Reporters Without Borders ranked Bangladesh 162 of 180 countries in its 2022 World Press Freedom Index. It is ranked below Russia (155) and Afghanistan (156).<\/p>\n

In recent months, Bangladesh\u2019s dwindling number of independent media and journalists have come under increasing attack by the government and Hasina\u2019s ruling party.<\/p>\n

The authorities shut down the lone opposition mouthpiece in February, saying it violated the country\u2019s press laws.<\/p>\n

A total of 56 journalists have been tortured, harassed, sued, intimidated and obstructed from doing their jobs in the first three months of 2023 according to the data published by Ain O Salish Kendra (ASK), a Bangladeshi legal aid and human rights organisation.<\/p>\n

Rights groups slammed the government moves against the country\u2019s leading newspaper. On April 12, Amnesty International said in a statement that \u201cProthom Alo, Bangladesh\u2019s largest daily newspaper is the latest media platform to come under increasing attack including intimidation, harassment and arrest of journalists signaling a deepening crisis for press freedom in the country.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is the latest in a series of attacks by the government of Bangladesh threatening press freedom in the country. Penalizing a media outlet, publisher or journalist solely for being critical of the government or the policies it promotes is a restriction of the right to freedom of expression that can never be justified. The attacks on Prothom Alo which has the largest daily circulation come close on the heels of the closure of Daily Dinkal, the only newspaper belonging to the main opposition party last month,\u201d said Yamini Mishra, regional director for South Asia at Amnesty International.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe use of the draconian Digital Security Act on journalists and attacks on some of the largest news publications in the country together indicate a worrying trend towards repression and a downward spiral of the right to freedom of expression in Bangladesh.\u201d<\/p>\n

A senior news editor from Bangladesh speaking to Amnesty International described the government\u2019s crackdown on Prothom Alo as a deliberate campaign \u2018to create an atmosphere of terror ahead of the general elections.\u2019<\/p>\n

Speaking on the condition of anonymity, he said, \u201cThe government is sending a very clear message (that) this is what happens when you cross the limits of speech we have set. Even if journalists eventually receive bail, until the day the case is dropped the pressure will remain\u2026 Many of those who criticize the ongoing crackdown on freedom of press in Bangladesh think the DSA is being misused by targeting journalists. However, this is a conceptual mistake. The DSA is not being misused \u2013 it is being used exactly in the way the government intended the law to function.\u201d<\/p>\n

On 31 March 2023,\u00a0 the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker T\u00fcrk called on Bangladesh to impose an immediate moratorium on the use of DSA until it is reformed to ensure compliance with international human rights law.\u00a0 The Commissioner expressed concern that the DSA \u2018is being used across Bangladesh to arrest, harass and intimidate journalists and human rights defenders, and to muzzle critical voices online.\u2019<\/p>\n<\/div>\n[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space][vc_empty_space][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text] Bangladesh\u2019s top newspaper Prothom Alo has come under attacks from the government and the ruling party following reports that challenge Sheikh Hasina government\u2019s development narrative. On March 29, Shamsuzzaman Shams, a reporter of Prothom Alo was picked up in the dark of the night from his house by plainclothes and then he was shown…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5091,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[238],"tags":[],"thb-sponsors":[],"class_list":["post-5005","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-south-asia-perspectives"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saperspectives.net\/old\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5005","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saperspectives.net\/old\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saperspectives.net\/old\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saperspectives.net\/old\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saperspectives.net\/old\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5005"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.saperspectives.net\/old\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5005\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5062,"href":"https:\/\/www.saperspectives.net\/old\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5005\/revisions\/5062"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saperspectives.net\/old\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5091"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saperspectives.net\/old\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5005"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saperspectives.net\/old\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5005"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saperspectives.net\/old\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5005"},{"taxonomy":"thb-sponsors","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saperspectives.net\/old\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/thb-sponsors?post=5005"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}