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Published : 19 Dec 2025, 08:59 PM
The Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) has said the Muhammad Yunus-led interim government cannot deny responsibility for the attack on media, describing it as an assault on free media, dissent, and freedom of speech.
The TIB, local chapter of Berlin-based Transparency International -- a global anti-corruption organisation, called the attacks as “organised” and “unprecedented”.
The TIB made the remarks in a statement issued on Friday, also expressing concern and condemnation over the killing of Inqilab Moncho Convenor Sharif Osman bin Hadi.
After the news of Hadi’s death while undergoing treatment in Singapore spread, groups of people took to the streets in protest. A mob vandalised and carried out arson attacks on The Daily Star and Prothom Alo newspaper offices.
Another mob attacked the Chhayanaut building in Dhanmondi, vandalising furniture at the Bengali cultural organisation and setting it on fire.
The TIB said in the statement the government has failed to arrest Hadi’s assailants.
TIB Executive Director Iftekharuzzaman pointed out the interim government’s shortsightedness and inefficiency in addressing the instability and security risks caused by public outrage over the allegations that it failed to arrest all those involved in the targeted shooting and even helped some flee to a neighbouring country.
The government cannot evade this responsibility, he said.
On the other hand, following the fall of the authoritarian regime, the angry and vengeful behaviour of certain factions claiming credit for the political changeover is giving rise to a new form of repressive tendencies in the state and society, the TIB statement said.
“Free media, dissent, and freedom of speech have become direct victims of this,” the statement said.
TIB said the government, taking “a submissive stance” after the political change after the fall of the authoritarian government, expanded the scope of intolerance, violence, and instability.
The anti-corruption organisation refused to view the attacks on The Daily Star, Prothom Alo and Chhayanaut, the assault of New Age Editor Nurul Kabir or the burning of Dipu Chandra Das as isolated incidents.
“…rather, they are glaring examples of the deliberate suppression of freedom of thought, dissent, and freedom of speech. In a Bangladesh that aspires to be an independent democracy, such destructive attacks are not only unacceptable but also stand as evidence of the state’s embarrassing failure to fulfill its fundamental responsibilities,” the TIB statement said.
