How free are journalists in Bangladesh now?

Desk Report: For the past 14 years, Sheikh Hasina's government has been accused of restricting press freedom. After the fall of Sheikh Hasina's government last August, journalists in the country thought that the media would be more open this time. But within just three months of Dr. Yunus's formation of the new government, the opposite has happened. At least 7 newspapers and several TV channels have been attacked in the last few months. Due to which many have had to stop or limit their news broadcasts.

These attacks were part of mob justice. However, Dr. Yunus did not take any action to remedy this, instead, hundreds of journalists have been sued in the last 3 months. Most of them are known to be Awami League-supporting journalists. Even the list of journalists has been sent to the immigration offices in the country so that none of them can leave the country.

Most recently, the Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit (BFIU) has summoned the bank accounts of 26 leading journalists in the country. At the same time, instructions have been given to freeze the bank accounts of their privately owned companies. The organization has sent instructions to the institutions in this regard.

According to the first letter, those whose accounts have been summoned are: Dainik Bangla Acting Editor Chowdhury Zafrullah Sharafat, former President of the National Press Club Shafiqur Rahman, TV Today Editor-in-Chief Manjurul Ahsan Bulbul, former Washington Press Minister Sajjad Hossain Sabuj, DBC News Assignment Editor Nazneen Munni, Independent TV Chief News Editor Ashish Ghosh Saikat, Gazi TV Editor (Research) Anjan Roy, Somoy TV Chittagong Bureau Chief Kamal Dey, Daily Amar Somoy Editor-in-Chief Abdul Gaffar Khan, Exim Bank Head of PRO Sanjeev Chatterjee and Raju Ahmed.

All transactions of the individuals and their personal and business accounts will be suspended for the next 30 days. If necessary, this period of suspension of transactions will be extended.

The BFIU's instructions further state that the accounts of the summoned accounts, including account opening forms, KYC and transaction details, must be sent to the BFIU within two working days from the date of the letter.

According to another letter, the individuals summoned are: Dhaka Union of Journalists (DUJ) President Quddus Afrad, former Managing Director of Bangladesh Journalists Welfare Trust Subhash Chandra Badal, Dhaka Tribune and New York Times Bangladesh Correspondent Zulfikar Ali Manik, former Deputy Press Secretary to the Prime Minister Ashraful Alam Khokon, Senior Executive Editor of Dainik Ameer Economise Masuda Bhatti, Editor of The Daily Observer Iqbal Sobhan Chowdhury, former Director of DBC News Md. Shahidul Ahsan Chairman, Dhaka Bangla Media and Communications Limited Director Rahnuma Ahsan, ATN News Head Nurul Amin (Prabhas), Dhaka Bangla Media and Communications Limited Director Mahbuba Helen, Dhaka Bangla Media and Communications Limited Director Shah Mohammad Shafiqul Ahsan, Dhaka Bangla Media and Communications Limited Director Md. Salauddin Chowdhury, Ekattor TV Counselor Mobashwira Farzana Mithila, Dainik Janakantha Executive Editor Swadesh Roy, former Somoy TV Managing Director Ahmed Jobayer and Sabrina Mahjabin, daughter of Iqbal Sobhan Chowdhury.