Eighty-eight expatriate journalists, writers, academics, researchers, cultural and rights activists have alleged that during the past 11 months of the interim government, there has been continuous persecution of journalists at various levels and through various processes.
They made this allegation in a joint statement on Wednesday.
The statement said, “According to the information available so far, at least 412 journalists have been accused in various harassment cases, including murder charges, over the past 11 months.”
“More than 300 journalists have been banned from foreign travel. The bank accounts of over a hundred journalists have been frozen. Harassment-related corruption cases have been filed at the Anti-Corruption Commission,” they added in the statement.
It further stated that over one thousand journalists across the country, including in Dhaka, have been dismissed from their jobs. The press accreditation cards of 168 journalists have been revoked.
The memberships of 101 journalists in the National Press Club and other press clubs around the country have been suspended, cancelled, or terminated. Unprecedented incidents such as media takeovers have occurred.
The statement also said that during and after the July–August uprising, 10 journalists were killed and countless others were injured, yet the government extended no assistance to the attacked journalists or their families. Rather, the hand of repression has expanded.
It added that as a result of such persecution and oppression, many journalists and their families are suffering indescribable mental, social, and economic hardship and are living in inhumane conditions.
The statement noted that, to their knowledge, such events have not occurred anywhere in the democratic world. It expressed strong condemnation and protest against the unprecedented repression of journalists and the suppression of freedom of speech.
Signatories of the statement include Syed Badrul Ahsan, Mukid Chowdhury, Sujat Monsur, Ashekun Nabi Chowdhury, Syed Anas Pasha, Mohammad Mokis Monsur, Syed Enamul Islam, TM Ahmad Kaiser, Jesmin Chowdhury, Sofia Zaher, among others.