Bangladesh
Formerly East Pakistan, Bangladesh came into being only in 1971, when the two parts of Pakistan split after a bitter civil war which drew in neighbouring India. After 15 years under military rule and then the restoration of democracy in 1990, the political scene remains volatile. The constitution guarantees press freedom, but journalists are subject to regular harassment from the police and political activists.
"Bangladesh is a tale of two journalisms," wrote Ron Chepesiuk, Professor at Chittagong University in Bangladesh, "On one hand, the profession is flourishing. For instance, Bangladesh may be one of the world's poorest countries, but its citizens now have more than 50 satellite channels to choose from. Each week, it seems, a new newspaper or magazine hits the newsstands. […] On the other hand, Bangladesh is one of the world's most dangerous countries for a reporter. Covering the news here can be as dangerous as reporting in a war zone." Killing of journalists, severe attacks against them and, what is perhaps worse, complete impunity is what the media have to deal with in Bangladesh.
Bangladesh has been under a state of emergency since the beginning of 2007, led by an interim government that was not elected. The state of emergency not only remains in place but is being used to limit political party activity and restrict freedom of expression and assembly, with torture a frequent consequence for those who do not toe the line and end up in the custody of the security services.
While the interim government claims there is media freedom in Bangladesh, Human Rights Watch has documented that the reality is far different. The Emergency Rules impose severe restrictions on media freedoms, which limit criticism of the government. These include provisions that allow the government to censor any media, stop distribution of any news or information published in violation of a government order, or bring criminal charges against a person who makes "provocative" remarks against the government and its programs. Violations of the Emergency Rules subject an individual to up to five years of imprisonment and significant fines.
In September 2007 authorities shut down the only 24-hours news channel, CSB News, citing an irregularity in its registration process. Earlier, in August, CSB News and Ekushey TV were served with warning notices from the Press Information Department for broadcasting "provocative news" about anti-government protests by university students.
According to Human Rights Watch's latest update, a number of journalists are currently arbitrarily detained. In March 2007, Atiqullah Khan Masud, the editor of Daily Janakantha, one of the most widely read Bengali newspapers, was arrested at his office in Dhaka for "tarnishing the image of the country" and was later charged with corruption. On October 17, a Dhaka court acquitted Masud of fraud charges but other criminal and corruption charges levelled against him are still under investigation and he is yet to be released from detention.
Succesive governments have also used the military intelligence agency, the Directorate General of Forces Intelligence (DGFI) for partisan purposes, and torture is known to be used, with at least half a dozen separate cases reported to Human Rights Watch in 2007-2008 alone.
On May 11th 2007, one of the most widely documented torture cases began when Tasneem Khalil, a reporter for the English language newspaper The Daily Star, and CNN's news representative in Bangladesh was arrested, apparently for his outspoken criticism of the military's role in extrajudicial killings, torture, arbitrary arrests, and other abuses. He was repeatedly beaten for several hours during the night and forced to confess to activities he had no part in, such as being a foreign spy. The only official government confirmation of his arrest said it was on the grounds of possessing information that goes against the interests of the country. Tasneem Khalil believes that he was only released because he had significant foreign connections as a result of his professional life, and he told Human Rights Watch that he was lucky to escape with his life. Many others who are put in similar situations become the victims of extra-judicial killings. After his release, Tasneem Khalil had to go into hiding, and he subsequently fled with his wife and young child to Sweden. His only crime was publicizing material critical of the government.
Update written by Patrick Loughran.
Sources: For further information, based on primary research, see the annual reports from Amnesty International (http://www.amnesty.org/), the Committee for the Protection of Journalists (http://www.cpj.org/), Reporters Without Borders (http://www.rsf.fr/) and the International Freedom of Expression eXchange (http://ifex.org/) . See also Human Rights Watch (http://www.hrw.org/). For more general information on Bangladesh, see the Foreign and Commonwealth Office country profile (www.fco.gov.uk).
Due to our limited resources, we are unfortunately unable to update these pages as often as we would like to and we understand that some of the above information may be contestable. If you have any comments on this entry, please direct them to enquiries@englishpen.org.