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Published : 10 Jul 2025, 08:30 AM
Sajeeb Wazed Joy has sharply criticised the BBC for a report linking ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina to an alleged order to open fire during last year’s mass protests, calling it “a shameless example of unethical journalism”.
In a Facebook post on Wednesday, Joy accused the BBC of producing a “distorted” report and failing to follow basic journalistic principles.
He claimed the outlet did not attempt to contact those accused in the story, omitted key context, and relied on a short audio fragment, a third-party forensic check, and “some statements from government-affiliated persons”.
“Despite claiming this to be an investigative report, the BBC has failed to adhere even to basic journalistic standards,” he wrote.
The BBC report, released by its World Service division, alleged that Hasina personally authorised the use of lethal force against protesters. A leaked phone conversation -- purportedly between Hasina and a senior official -- was presented as evidence, in which she is allegedly heard saying: "wherever they find [them], they will shoot",
The BBC said it verified the clip through forensic firm Earshot, which found “no sign” of manipulation.
But Joy challenged the credibility of the investigation, saying the BBC's “custom investigation” was neither thorough nor fair.
He argued that the BBC’s report was broadly split into two parts: the first, which claimed that at least 52 people were killed by police fire in Jatrabari on Aug 5; and the second, involving the leaked phone call allegedly from Hasina.
Joy said the BBC had “cunningly” ignored critical questions and background context -- particularly the desperate conditions in which police had to respond.
He accused the BBC of trivialising the “extreme situation” faced by police.
“The desperate situation in which the police were forced to fire has been trivialised. In reality, there was virtually no functioning government in the country at that time.”
Joy cited two police officers interviewed by the BBC who said they were completely surrounded and opened fire in self-defence.
He also questioned why the military, initially deployed at the scene, suddenly pulled out -- an issue he said the BBC ignored. Yet, the report quickly concluded that the police used “indiscriminate” fire, based only on protester testimony and “some mobile and drone footage”.
Despite what he described as “superficial” analysis, Joy noted that the BBC was still forced to include some inconvenient truths.
“The report mentions that ‘the shooting incident started at 2:43 pm’, clearly indicating the violence erupted significantly after news spread about Sheikh Hasina leaving her official residence, Ganabhaban,” the post read.
Joy accused the BBC of trying to present violent protesters as “innocent”, while hiding footage of the attacks on police.
“Thousands of violent protesters launched an assault on the Jatrabari police station. Despite an army contingent’s initial presence, for mysterious reasons, they suddenly retreated,” he said.
“Protesters then invaded the station, brutally killing several police officers by setting them ablaze. Countless video clips capturing these horrific acts circulate online, yet the BBC selectively chose only a few mobile and drone clips.”
He questioned how the drone footage was captured and why BBC investigators did not probe who flew the drones or how they were positioned to film the violence in advance.
Joy also criticised the report for failing to explain why autopsies were not carried out and for not clarifying the police death toll.
He wrote, “The BBC did not address whether police had any viable alternatives other than firing in such desperate circumstances.
“The report demands precise numbers of those killed by ‘police firing’, yet even after an 11-month investigation, the BBC could not ascertain exactly how many police personnel were killed, stating vaguely, at least six policemen were killed.”
“Determining how many police personnel were killed that day should have been straightforward. Yet, the BBC's so-called top investigative journalists failed to clarify even this simple fact.
“They also failed to investigate why Yunus's interim government issued indemnity immediately following these events.
The second half of the BBC investigation involved a voice clip allegedly of Hasina, directing security forces to shoot.
Joy said the clip was just a few seconds long and “lacked” basic context.
The post read, “Why Sheikh Hasina said those words, to whom, under what circumstances, or even if she genuinely said them—BBC's apparent reluctance to explain this is perplexing.
“Mentioning context is fundamental in journalism, yet the BBC omitted it.”
“As an international institution, BBC could easily have sought statements from senior figures of Bangladesh’s previous government residing abroad but chose instead to publish only the information provided by the interim administration.”
He also criticised the BBC’s editing, accusing it of juxtaposing Hasina’s speech with scenes of police violence, creating a misleading association.
“The BBC selectively integrated visuals from Sheikh Hasina's speech to the nation, falsely associating them with police brutality, ignoring the actual context of direct attacks on the police,” he said.
