Senior journalist Probir Kumar Sarker has laid bare the suffocating grip of “mobocracy” on Bangladesh’s media landscape in a live discussion streamed on YouTube’s The Political Drama channel.
Speaking from exile on November 11, Sarker—who served the daily Dhaka Tribune as the News Editor—described a press corps terrorised into silence, with survival trumping scrutiny.
“The most important thing is that I am alive… because I left the country before danger struck,” he said, his voice steady but laced with the weight of threats endured.
The hour-long talk show, hosted by filmmaker and writer Shahadat Russell under the title “Media Freedom in Mobocracy,” featured Sarker alongside Imam Hussain Imron, international affairs editor for the Finland Awami League and a vocal critic of the interim government’s global image.
The session dissected how mob violence and political reprisals have eroded journalistic independence since the August 2024 regime change that installed Muhammad Yunus as chief adviser.
Sarker is a veteran journalist with experience in war crimes, religious extremism, geopolitics, and human rights advocacy, who earlier worked with The Daily Star and BDNEWS24.
He positioned the conversation as a call to arms for Bangladesh’s “watchdogs.” Drawing from his frontline years covering the 1971 Liberation War’s legacy and democratic backsliding, he argued that mainstream media’s capitulation has ceded truth-telling to social platforms. “Bangladesh’s media forgot its duty to portray the true picture to the people,” Sarker said. “They are no longer in that committed place.”
Exile and Threats: A Journalist’s Escape from Mob Fury
Sarker’s personal saga set the tone. Once a fixture in Dhaka’s newsrooms, he recounted two mob attacks on his home and relentless online harassment. “I was under a lot of threats online… People I knew were threatening me for campaigning against rumours,” he explained. From July 2024, as protests swelled at Dhaka University and Jahangirnagar University, Sarker used Facebook to debunk inflated death tolls and misinformation.
“As a journalist, it’s my responsibility not to tolerate rumours. I never spread them myself, and if someone does, I expose them.”
The backlash was swift. Direct threats flooded his inbox and comments. Post-regime change, as he began probing “conspiracies,” his newspaper silenced him. “I couldn’t write in my paper out of fear of these terrorists… Many offices were attacked; jobs were lost in the first two or three days.”
Sarker credited his freedom to exile: “If I had a job here, my editor or executive editor would say, ‘No, Probir, don’t write these. We can’t afford it.'”
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Imron, from Finland, amplified the global echo. As a counterforce to Yunus’s “blueprint for destruction”—marked by militancy’s rise and minority targeting—he praised Sarker’s activism. “Probir Bhai has been actively working for the Liberation War and human rights on various platforms for a long time.”
The discussion evoked raw human stakes: families shattered, reporters glancing over shoulders. Sarker’s flight mirrors a broader exodus—over 300 journalists banned from travel since August 2024, per Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) data. Yet, he urged resilience: “We’re alive—that’s the biggest thing.”
Mobocracy vs. the Pen: Who Wields Power Now?
A pivotal exchange probed power dynamics. Host Russell asked: “In today’s context, is the mob more powerful in Bangladesh, or the journalist’s pen?”
Sarker’s reply was unflinching: “It has to be said that the mob is powerful now because they kill people in the blink of an eye… They target groups and attack, and there’s no police, no army, and no RAB support.” He described a lawless void where victims live in “life’s anxiety.” Even political cadres, meant to be absent in an interim setup, thrive—emboldened by a weakened police force. “The police are with the mob… They send mobs first to check if someone is home before arresting.”
Sarker dissected the media’s complicity. Reporters fetch facts, but “decision-makers”—editors and owners—gatekeep. “The problem in our country is that decision-makers say, ‘Don’t write’ if it’s a crime by the government.”
He cited a recent airport arms theft story: The story was reported on October 18, 2025, but it was buried until November 4—10 days late—because of fears of mob violence and concerns about territorial safety. “Reporters think: If I report this, can I get home? Or will they grab me on the road?”
This self-censorship, Sarker lamented, sustains mob culture. “Journalists and editors aren’t writing… How long will they tolerate it? Democracy is dying; mobocracy is rising.” He invoked Nepal’s 2025 regime change: Two days of protests toppled the government, but the army swiftly curbed mobs via warnings and curfews.
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“No mob anywhere… The army took action.” In Bangladesh, Sarker accused the military of constitutional dereliction on August 5, 2024—abandoning police and enabling killings. “If the army wasn’t part of the conspiracy, they could have stopped it… At least supported the police.”
Social Media’s Shadow: From Fourth Estate to Clickbait Circus
Russell pressed on the media’s decline: Once, families gathered for 8 p.m. bulletins or morning papers. Now, truth trickles via Facebook videos of beatings. “We’re more reliant on social media for news… Is this a death knell for mainstream media?”
Sarker traced the fall. Radio yielded to TV (BTV, CNN, BBC), then dailies for the educated elite. Online journalism exploded around 2006 with BDNews24.com, spawning unregulated portals. “They copied news, tweaked headlines… No registration, no accountability.” Mandatory online registration under the Awami League helped but wasn’t enforced.
Clickbait poisoned the well. “Over the last 5-10 years, with the mobile internet boom, earning addiction hit portals.” Even stalwarts like Prothom Alo chased traffic. “Influencers—stains on journalism—with no qualifications—started clickbait too.” Headlines twisted facts; bodies politicised them. Sarker spotlighted YouTuber Elias Hossain, exiled in the US: “He admits mixing rumours for views… His father was a Razakar in Chuadanga in ’71. If Pakistanis come, I’ll stand with them.”
This “sensationalism” erodes trust, Sarker said. Crime permeates society—not just politicians. “We blame them, but violence is everywhere in our culture.”
Deep State Media: Propaganda’s Long Shadow
Sarker turned the scalpel on outlets like Prothom Alo and The Daily Star. “They claim no political colour… Establishment-less. But they’re Deep State agents.” Once anti-establishment and pro-Liberation War, they’ve embargoed Yunus-era failures: 99 out of 100 rights violations ignored. “They report only when the international media does…a vicious cycle.”
He accused them of 2007-style propaganda against the Awami League, now silent on mob killings (5,800 incidents, thousands dead/missing in 14 months). “They editorialise front-page leads… Input opinions into news.” Power sector exposés? Hypocrisy, per Sarker: They railed against Adani “commissions” under Hasina; now, Yunus’s fuel adviser admits capacity charges are “investment parts”—yet there is no cancellation push.
Beneficiaries abound: BBC Bangla reporter Akbar Hossain as press minister in London, Faisal Ahmed as Delhi press minister, and Golam Mortuza in Washington. “They get posts because they manipulated.” Sarker contrasted his integrity: “I never did second-rate work… I wrote about Hasina’s wrongs, Awami corruption, and BNP atrocities—without manipulation.”
Historical parallels chilled: 1975 post-Bangabandhu assassination, media muzzled for three years. BNP as Jamaat’s “B-team” (now C-team with AB Party). “Jamaat’s vote stalls at 3-4%… They infiltrate parties.”
Election Mirage: Mobocracy’s Lasting Legacy
As polls whisper for February 2026, Sarker scoffed: “Elections won’t happen… At least not in February.” Yunus’s cabal—BNP, Jamaat, civil society—savours its first taste of power. “No accountability… Mobocracy lets them earn without rules.” Nomination “business” rakes in crores; secretary posts fetch 200 crore bribes, 40 crore to Yunus.
Sarker dissected Yunus’ psyche: Childhood thefts from his father’s cash box (per Banker to the Poor), and family tragedies (mother’s madness at his age of 9). Scouting at 10-12 changed him…learned photo ops and limelight. Now, Tk20,000 crore+ “benefits” amid inflation, factory closures, and subsidy slashes (140 to zero).”
On polls, Sarker said: If forced by global pressure, Awami League gets seats—a “threat.” Mob culture endures; violence mars voting. Infighting brews: BNP rifts, Jamaat-NCP clashes. Army? “Tribunal-ed seniors out; leaders are BNP/Jamaat agents.”
Sarker ended defiantly: Journalists must network. “If a few unite, we can counter.” As the stream cut—sound glitches mirroring chaos—his words lingered: a plea for the pen to reclaim power from the mob.
Systematic Persecution
The interim government, formed after the 2024 army-backed jihadist coup, vowed to establish a corruption-free, non-partisan system. Instead, it has overseen a 230% surge in attacks on journalists since August 2024, with 878 media workers targeted between August 2024 and July 2025, according to the Rights and Risks Analysis Group (RRAG).
This includes 640 journalists harassed in the first eight months alone, per RRAG’s World Press Freedom Day 2025 report.
False Cases and Imprisonment
Since August 2024, over 292 journalists have been implicated in wholesale criminal cases, including murder, attempted murder, genocide, and crimes against humanity, often tied to the July-August 2024 protests. At least 39 have been arrested, with 13 remaining imprisoned as of mid-2025, denied bail, and subjected to prolonged remands.
Notable cases include Shahriar Kabir, Farzana Rupa and Shakil Ahmed, detained for months on baseless murder charges despite no evidence linking them to the alleged crimes; they remain behind bars a year later. Shyamal Dutta, editor of the daily Bhorer Kagoj, and Mozammel Haque Babu face similar politically motivated detentions.
Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has condemned these as “outrageous charges” and a “spiral of revenge,” urging Yunus to review cases and halt reprisals. The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) describes them as “apparently baseless” retaliation against those perceived as supportive of the ousted Awami League.
At least 10 journalists have been killed since the regime change, with incidents like the June 2025 murder of Khandaker Shah Alam highlighting targeted violence.
Mass Revocation of Accreditation Cards
In a move decried as punitive censorship, the Press Information Department revoked accreditations for 167 journalists between October and November 2024, with an additional 118 in November, totalling over 285 by early 2025. No specific reasons were provided, though targets were largely those seen as pro-Awami League. This bars them from government buildings and events, severely limiting their work.
The Editors’ Council warned that this “fosters a climate of control, including censorship,” while RSF called it “incomprehensible” self-censorship encouragement. TIB labelled it an “indicator of an anti-people authoritarian regime.”
Over 1,000 journalists have lost jobs or been forced to resign, with 83 press club memberships revoked and media houses forcibly taken over.
Intimidation tactics include freezing bank accounts of 18 journalists and investigating 107 via the Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit (BFIU), a practice absent under the prior regime. Travel bans affect over 300, and 431 faced physical threats or violence in the past year. Proposed cyber laws, like the Cyber Protection Ordinance 2025, risk further stifling online expression.
CPJ notes this creates a “chilling effect,” with journalists facing job losses for critical reporting, such as Rahman Mizan and Fazle Rabbi’s dismissals after questioning officials. Expatriate journalists’ groups condemned this as “systematic persecution,” demanding an end to harassment.
Mob Attacks on Media Offices
Mob violence has surged, with 50+ attacks on media outlets since August 2024, often unchecked by authorities. Immediately after Hasina’s fall, offices of ATN Bangla, ATN News, Ekattor TV, Independent Television, and Somoy TV were looted and vandalised, halting broadcasts. In August 2024, Kaler Kantho and Radio Capital were ransacked, damaging 25 vehicles. The Chittagong Press Club was attacked, injuring 20 journalists.
Prothom Alo and The Daily Star faced coordinated assaults in Dhaka, Rajshahi, and Bogura in November 2024, with mobs storming offices over “anti-Islamic” claims and slaughtering cows outside the office to celebrate Zeyafat. RRAG reports 74 violence cases, including beatings and newsroom invasions. The Newspaper Owners’ Association condemned this as a threat to media safety, urging Yunus to prevent “mob justice.”
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