Contrary to Rizwana's claim, press was terrified during Yunus regime

On 15 February, Information and Broadcasting Adviser Syeda Rizwana Hasan told reporters at the Bangladesh Secretariat that no journalist had been jailed for expressing their opinions during the interim government's tenure.

"Any action taken against individuals was part of legal procedures based on available information," she stated. 

But to anyone who has kept up with the news since the July Uprising, it might seem like she is drawing a narrow boundary around imprisonment and opinion. 

Take the case of media outlet Bangladesh Times for instance: on the night of 7 February, just days before the national election, army personnel entered the outlet's Dhaka office and detained 21 journalists and staff members. 

They were taken to a nearby army camp after the news portal published a video in which an individual spoke critically of the army during a protest. The detainees were released later that night, and an army officer described the episode as a "small issue". 

Nazmul Ahasan, the executive editor of Netra News, wrote on Facebook, "This kind of transgression is entirely unacceptable. The entry of army personnel into a newsroom and the detention of journalists from within it amount to an abuse of power."

The incident did not occur in isolation. During the interim government's tenure, 381 incidents affecting journalists were documented. The Daily Star and Prothom Alo were attacked. Press club leadership were removed by force. Bank accounts were frozen. Accreditations were revoked. Around 140 journalists were named in criminal cases. Some were jailed, and their bails rejected.

Whether any judge wrote the phrase "imprisoned for opinion" is beside the point.

The question is whether journalists were arrested, detained, prosecuted, stripped of credentials, financially targeted, attacked, or forced out of their posts for activities intrinsically tied to expression and reporting.

Numbers don't lie

According to documentation compiled by Ain o Salish Kendra (ASK), 381 incidents affecting journalists were recorded between January and December 2025 . 

These include 118 journalists assaulted while performing professional duties and 52 incidents involving torture, harassment or threats by law enforcement agencies, while three were killed. Cases were filed against journalists over published news; death threats were documented; harassment by government officials was recorded.

But the numbers tell only part of the story.

Following the fall of the Sheikh Hasina-led government, the Jatiya Press Club in Dhaka was vandalised and forcefully occupied. The offices of its president Farida Yasmin and general secretary Shyamal Dutta were attacked. Memberships were revoked. Shyamal Dutta was later prevented from leaving the country and jailed.

In Chattogram, the local press club was vandalised. 

The East West Media Group compound in Dhaka — home to Kaler Kantho and Radio Capital — was attacked, with vehicles damaged.

These were not state-issued detention orders. They were acts of mob pressure in a volatile political climate. But the interim government largely remained silent. 

Arrests and prosecutions

Rizwana's claim hinges on the phrase "imprisonment for expressing opinion". Yet multiple journalists were detained or jailed during the interim government's period under dubious criminal charges.

Two notable cases are the arrest of Anis Alamgir and Monjurul Alam Panna. 

Anis Alamgir, a veteran journalist and commentator, was detained on 15 December under the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA) after a complaint was filed against him and four others for spreading propaganda in favour of the Awami League.

Similarly, journalist Monjurul Alam Panna was detained on 29 August 2025 under the same law, on the charge of "conspiring to overthrow the interim government".

In both cases, the legal framing did not describe the acts as "opinions" in isolation. They were instead cloaked in allegations of incitement, destabilisation, or disorder. 

Shyamal Dutta, editor of Bhorer Kagoj, was detained on 16 September 2024 near the Dhobaura border. He was accused at the International Crimes Tribunal of inciting murder, genocide and torture during the 2024 quota reform movement, and separately named in a murder case linked to protest violence. 

Mozammel Haque Babu, former CEO of Ekattor TV, was jailed on charges of abetting genocide and crimes against humanity. Around 140 journalists were accused in cases connected to the deaths of protestors.

On 21 August 2024, Farzana Rupa, former principal correspondent of Ekattor TV, was detained at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in connection with a murder case. 

Her husband, journalist Shakil Ahmed, was also detained. Both were sent to jail after bail was rejected. Their legal team later filed a complaint with the United Nations, alleging arbitrary detention.

When airport detention becomes a recurring experience for journalists, the boundary between criminal process and intimidation blurs.

Administrative pressure

Beyond arrests, administrative tools were also deployed.

During its tenure, the interim government revoked the press accreditation of 167 journalists without public explanation. Accreditation is not a symbolic credential; it determines access to state institutions and official events. Its removal limits a journalist's ability to function professionally.

Furthermore, the Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit began scrutinising and freezing bank accounts of certain journalists following requests from the Ministry of Information. Accounts of a few journalists and family members were frozen. The Anti-Corruption Commission sought court orders to seize tax files.

Freezing accounts does not involve a prison cell, but it constrains livelihood and signals punitive oversight.

Media houses under attack

On 18 December 2025, a mob attacked the offices of The Daily Star and Prothom Alo, accusing them of ideological bias. 

Earlier, on 5 August 2024, Somoy TV ceased transmissions temporarily after mobs attacked and vandalised its premises following Sheikh Hasina's ouster. A High Court order later suspended its broadcasts for a week amid management disputes.

Deepto TV suspended news broadcasting in April after controversy over a reporter's question to Cultural Adviser Mostofa Sarwar Farooki. Two journalists were terminated and ATN Bangla took action against a reporter from the same press conference.

In January 2025, Bhorer Kagoj halted its print edition amid internal conflict after Shyamal Dutta's detention. The interim government delisted the newspaper in April.

What does 'jailed for opinion' mean?

At the centre of the controversy is a question of semantics. Does the absence of a conviction explicitly labelled as punishment for "opinion" suffice to establish a free press environment?

International standards on press freedom emphasise substance over form. If journalists are arrested following commentary, detained under broad public order provisions, or prosecuted for speech-related acts, the legal categorisation may not alter the practical effect.

In Bangladesh's context, legal tools — from defamation statutes to digital security laws — have long been used to curb expression. When a journalist's commentary is deemed destabilising, the state's strong-arm response may be framed as punishment for opinion, regardless of the legal semantics used. 

In a broader sense, this creates a chilling effect that drives journalists to self-censor. When someone, under such deterrent pressure, withholds their opinion, there is, of course, no need to jail them for expressing one.