Journalism in Bangladesh:Ask Questions, Lose Your Job

Sanjoy Kumar Barua

In a deeply alarming escalation of media repression, Bangladesh’s interim government has intensified its assault on press freedom by orchestrating the dismissal of three journalists from major television networks and forcing the indefinite suspension of a news division—merely for asking legitimate questions at a government press conference.

The draconian measures stem from a tense press briefing held Monday at the Secretariat, where celebrated filmmaker and newly appointed Cultural Adviser Mostofa Sarwar Farooki fielded questions regarding Bangladesh’s participation at the Cannes Film Festival.

However, the conference quickly shifted focus as journalists posed critical queries surrounding political violence, national unity, and public accountability.

Among the inquiries were questions about Farooki’s claim that 1,400 people were killed during the July-August political unrest—an unverified number—and his provocative characterization of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina as a “killer,” in absence of any judicial ruling.

For these questions alone, Rahman Mizan of Deepto TV and Fazle Rabbi of ATN Bangla were summarily terminated from their positions.

Rafiqul Bashar of Channel i, who had questioned the use of Sheikh Hasina’s image in the Pahela Baishakh parade motif, has been relieved of his duties pending an internal investigation.

Deepto TV’s Head of News, S.M. Akash, confirmed the suspension of the channel’s entire news coverage “until further notice,” citing intimidation and reputational threats.

ATN Bangla’s Executive Editor, Moniur Rahman, admitted the outlet faced threats of being physically encircled by agitators, prompting the removal of their journalist to “avert further danger.”

The campaign of intimidation was orchestrated by the July Revolutionary Alliance (JRA)—a shadowy, pro-regime digital front—which publicly doxxed the three journalists on Facebook, branding them as traitors and issuing a brazen ultimatum for immediate “punitive action.”

The group issued a 24-hour ultimatum, threatening to stage mass protests outside the TV stations unless disciplinary measures were taken.

The posts were widely shared and included direct threats of a “March to Deepto TV, Channel i, and ATN Bangla” protest action.

By Tuesday evening, the JRA page posted termination letters of Mizan and Rabbi, triumphantly announcing their dismissals as a “victory.”

Attempts to contact the phone number listed on the page went unanswered.

This development signals a troubling shift under the interim administration, where rigorous journalism is no longer safeguarded but penalized—eroding the foundations of democratic accountability.

The state appears to be fostering a culture of fear, emboldening vigilante-style digital mobs to dictate newsroom policies.

“What we are witnessing is an unambiguous collapse of journalistic independence,” said a senior Dhaka-based editor under condition of anonymity.

“To lose your job for asking a question is not just repression—it is a grotesque perversion of democratic norms.”

At the heart of the controversy was Mizanur Rahman’s question to Farooki: “How can you claim 1,400 people were killed? Where is the list?”

When pressed on calling Sheikh Hasina a killer without a court verdict, Farooki retorted by comparing the skepticism to someone questioning Pakistani atrocities in 1971, deeming the journalist’s logic “absurd.”

Farooki claimed his death toll figure was based on a United Nations report, although no such report has been publicly cited.

Over the past six months, Bangladesh has witnessed an exponential rise in state-sanctioned suppression of the press.

From digital surveillance to arbitrary firings and smear campaigns, the interim government’s intolerance for dissent has reached an alarming level.

The interim regime—formed after a chaotic transition in early 2024—has projected itself as a neutral caretaker, but critics argue it is increasingly aligned with military and technocratic interests.

Journalists in Bangladesh fear that the current crackdown is just the beginning of a longer authoritarian entrenchment.

In the first two months of 2025, Ain o Salish Kendra reported a staggering 62 incidents of harassment against journalists.

Among these, five journalists faced trumped-up charges, 25 were physically assaulted on the job, and five others were targeted with legal actions in retaliation for their reporting.

One particularly egregious case involves Mahmud Tanjid, a correspondent for Daily Sangbad at Jagannath University in Dhaka.

After the regime change, Tanjid reported on the Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami student wing’s alleged covert control over university-based social and cultural organizations.

For his efforts to expose this, an office-bearer from one of the organizations filed a defamation suit against him.

Tanjid, 25, stated, “I had proof of their control over these organizations, but they remained concealed under Sheikh Hasina’s regime. After the regime change, their committee list exposed their leaders as heads of university organizations. This case is nothing more than a strategic attempt to harass me, derail my education, and punish me for reporting the truth.”

Media rights organizations have vehemently condemned this alarming pattern of harassment, calling for urgent protections for journalists in Bangladesh.