It is nothing short of appalling to see attacks on journalists continue despite the fall of the previous autocratic regime under whose misrule press freedom in Bangladesh suffered greatly. Yes, at this point in history, Bangladesh really is enjoying an unprecedented level of press freedom, however the number of dubious cases being lodged against journalists on charges as egregious as murder and even genocide point to a coordinated movement to further suppress freedom of the press in our nation.
Ever since the fall of the previous governments, criminal cases against journalists have seen a sharp upturn with a Daily Star report finding at least 266 journalists being implicated in a host of cases in relation to the student movement from last year. The majority of these cases are nothing if not retaliatory owing to the shift in political climate in Bangladesh.
This is sheer abuse of our justice system, and is nothing if not another way for those with influence to silence journalists into submission.
In the past 15 years, press freedom in Bangladesh was impacted severely due to the autocratic tendencies of the past regime, through the enactment of draconian laws such as the Digital Security Act. Ever since Sheikh Hasina’s government was deposed, there was renewed faith on the part of the public that the nation would finally be able to enjoy the kind of free press it has been in need of for so long - - the recent phenomenon of false cases against journalists, then, is nothing if not a remnant of that same belligerent outlook against the press which the previous government harboured.
While the interim government has been fairly transparent in admitting that it is unable to obstruct cases being filed and that the judiciary is going through every case as objectively as possible, what guarantee is there for vested quarters to not take advantage of the political void and influence the outcome of these case investigations?