While it is good to see State Minister Shahe Alam expressing regret over the arrest of acting editor Md Rezanur Islam of the Dainik Aagrojatra Protidin involving a report, this should have never happened in the first place.
It is truly a shame that despite the years of press suppression during previous regimes, we continue to silence journalists through immediate arrests. Instead, Bangladesh must ensure that for its democracy to be strengthened, not undermined, it protects the voices that dare to speak up.
A free press is among the strongest indicators of a thriving democracy. Reporters must be allowed to serve as watchdogs and hold power accountable while ensuring transparency in governance.
When anybody can file a case against journalists, and when this immediately leads to them being arrested, harassed, intimidated, or punished for their reporting, it becomes not just an attack on individuals but an attack on freedom itself.
It goes without saying that such practices belong to a darker chapter of our history, one that Bangladesh must attempt to never revisit.
Protecting journalists is not optional but a duty of the state. Criticism, uncomfortable truths, and investigative reporting are part of a healthy democracy, and the first instinct cannot be to immediately silence such reporting if there are disagreements.
Bangladesh must be clear: Journalists cannot and must not be silenced simply for doing their jobs. We appreciate the minister promptly reacting to the arrest, and hope that a solution is reached with immediate effect where he is released.
However, in the long run, if we are to make true progress in this space, it will come only when journalists can work without fear. Complaints against journalists must be handled through the existing legal and institutional framework, and a report should not mean that they could end up in jail.