Months after Hasina’s fall, Bangladeshi journalists face threats amid concerns over new laws: CPJ

Six months after the ouster of former prime minister Sheikh Hasina’s government in a mass uprising, journalists in Bangladesh continue to face “threats and attacks”, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists, or CPJ.

In a statement on Monday, the international press rights organisation warned that media professionals remain at risk, with recent legislative proposals further fuelling concerns.

At the heart of these concerns are two proposed laws: the Cyber Security Ordinance 2025 and the Personal Data Protection Ordinance 2025, both introduced by the interim government in January.

While the government has reportedly removed provisions on defamation and warrantless searches from the cyber security ordinance following criticism, rights groups warn that other sections of the draft legislation could be used to silence journalists.

The Global Network Initiative, an alliance of the CPJ, said the draft law grants the government “disproportionate authority” to limit access to online content and personal data.

The proposed data protection law, critics say, could provide authorities “unchecked powers” over personal information with few judicial safeguards.

“Democracy cannot flourish without robust journalism,” said Beh Lih Yi, CPJ’s Asia programme coordinator. “Bangladesh’s interim government must deliver on its promise to protect journalists and their right to report freely.”

She continued, “Authorities should amend proposed laws that could undermine press freedom and hold the perpetrators behind the attacks on the press to account.”

The CPJ said calls and messages to ICT Advisor Nahid Islam seeking comment on the legislation went unanswered.

The organisation also cited incidents of journalists being physically assaulted, subjected to criminal investigations and harassed in connection with their work.

ATTACKS ON JOURNALISTS

A journalist investigating allegations of medical negligence in Shariatpur was brutally attacked on Feb 3, along with three colleagues, in a violent assault that has raised concerns over press freedom in the country.

Speaking to the CPJ, Shohag Khan Sujon, a reporter for the daily Samakal, said he was struck with a hammer on his left ear and stabbed in the back with a knife while a clinic owner restrained him.

Three other journalists -- Nayon Das of Bangla TV, Bidhan Mojumder Oni of News 24 Television, and Saiful Islam Akash of Desh TV -- were also beaten with hammers when they attempted to intervene. The assault ended only when local residents chased the attackers away.

Sujon has since filed a police complaint of attempted murder. Helal Uddin, chief of the Palang Model Police Station, confirmed to CPJ that an investigation is underway.

A second attack occurred the same day in the southeastern district of Lakshmipur, where four journalists -- Md Rafiqul Islam of Khoborer Kagoj, Abdul Malak Nirob of Amar Barta, Md Alauddin of Daily Amar Somoy, and Md Foysal Mahmud of Daily Alokito Sakal -- were assaulted by a dozen masked men wielding bamboo sticks.

According to Rafiqul, the attackers confiscated the journalists’ cameras, mobile phones, and wallets before opening fire.

Mahmud was hit by shrapnel in his left ear and leg during the attack.

Authorities have since arrested four suspects in connection with the Lakshmipur attack, though two were released on bail on Feb 10, Rafiqul told CPJ.

Md Akhter Hossain, the superintendent of police in Lakshmipur, said in a call with CPJ that efforts are ongoing to apprehend additional suspects.

THREATS

Shafiur Rahman, a British freelance documentary filmmaker of Bangladeshi descent, has been inundated with threats following his recent reporting on an alleged meeting between a Bangladeshi intelligence agency and leaders of the armed group Rohingya Solidarity Organisation.

Rahman, who published his findings on Jan 30, told the CPJ that he has received a stream of menacing emails and social media messages warning him to abandon his work.

Several emails instructed him to “stop or suffer the consequences”, while social media posts included an image of him with a red target on his forehead, accompanied by warnings that he would face prosecution across the country.

“The nature of these threats suggests an orchestrated campaign to silence me, and I fear potential real-world repercussions if I continue my work on the ground,” Rahman told the CPJ.

The CPJ said that an official from the intelligence agency did not respond to requests for comment.