The South Asia Journalists Federation (SAJF) has expressed grave concern and strong condemnation over reports that Special Branch (SB) of Bangladesh Police have been collecting sensitive personal, political, and social media information on journalists nationwide.
In a statement, SAJF said such intrusive profiling and surveillance tactics create severe psychological pressure on media professionals, undermine press freedom, and send “an alarming message to the entire journalistic community in Bangladesh.”
SAJF, a regional organisation under the Federation of Asia Pacific Journalists ( FAPaJ), expressed solidarity with the Bangladesh Manobadhikar Sangbadik Forum and the Dhaka Union of Journalists, which have already protested against the initiative.
The federation demanded an immediate halt to the profiling, full transparency on directives issued to SB and intelligence units, and clear guarantees from the interim government that state institutions will not be used to intimidate or harass journalists.
According to leaked directives dated 18 May, police officers in several Dhaka zones were instructed to gather detailed information on journalists and cultural figures, including educational qualifications, political identities, family backgrounds, secondary professions, social media accounts, and even “negative information.”
SAJF President Geetartha Pathak warned, “A democratic society cannot allow journalists to work under fear, surveillance and political profiling. The collection of personal, political and social media data of journalists by law enforcement agencies amounts to intimidation and threatens the very foundation of independent journalism and freedom of expression.”
Secretary General Shakeel Ahmed added that monitoring journalists’ social media and compiling “negative information” represents a dangerous overreach of authority and amounts to state‑sponsored surveillance.
SAJF also urged regional and international press freedom organizations to monitor developments in Bangladesh and extend solidarity to journalists facing intimidation.
