Human Rights Watch has urged upon the state authorities to immediately withdraw all criminal charges filed against the editors of the Daily Star and Prothom Alo.
The New York-based rights organisation demanded to repeal the country's abusive criminal defamation and sedition laws, which violate international standards.
HRW made the call by a media release showed in its website on Saturday.
“Criminal charges against editors of the leading newspapers in Bangladesh are a clear attempt to intimidate all media in the country,” said Brad Adams, Asia director of HRW. “A government controlling almost all seats in parliament and all national executive authority has to be particularly protective of a free press – or risk turning Bangladesh into an authoritarian state.”
The cases are part of a larger, organised assault on independent media in Bangladesh over several years.
Bangladeshi authorities have closed critical media houses, jailed editors, tried bloggers, and charged journalists with contempt of court for reporting unfavorably on government actions. The editor of Amar Desh newspaper, Mahmudur Rahman, has been jailed without trial since 2013 on charges of sedition and unlawful publication of intercepted conversations.
Both the Daily Star and Prothom Alo have faced government retaliation for their reporting. Media personnel have alleged to Human Rights Watch that this includes a ban on advertising by large private companies in the two papers. Several corporate sources speaking anonymously stated that they had received these instructions in an article published by Al Jazeera in October 2015.
“Defamation should not be treated as a crime,” Adams said. “If a newspaper intentionally publishes false information that harms an individual’s reputation, then a civil defamation case is the proper remedy, so long as a fair and impartial trial can be assured. But Bangladesh should not be in the business of jailing journalists for what they write.”
Human Rights Watch called for repeal of the sedition law, which is overly broad and vague. Anam faces at least 15 sedition charges.
Bangladesh’s sedition and criminal defamation laws are contrary to the country’s international human rights obligations. The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), which Bangladesh ratified in 2000, prohibits restrictions on freedom of expression on national security grounds unless they are provided by law, strictly construed, and necessary and proportionate to address a legitimate threat.
Human Rights Watch said that laws imposing criminal penalties for peaceful expression are of particular concern because of their chilling effect on free speech. The assault on speech affects not only the media, but also critical civil society. Journalists report engaging in self-censorship. Activists and human rights defenders have faced charges, arrest, and intimidation. Bloggers who have expressed atheist sentiments have been killed, yet others have faced charges of insulting religious feelings.
“These criminal charges are clearly a form of retribution against political enemies of the government,” said Adams. “And while it is going after journalists, the government has taken no action to hold members of DGFI accountable for the extrajudicial killings, disappearances, and torture that took place during the caretaker period. Bangladesh’s sedition and criminal defamation laws need to be repealed, and charges against all media and other critics withdrawn immediately.”