In a statement issued on Wednesday, Council President Nurul Kabir and General Secretary Dewan Hanif Mahmud called for the immediate retraction of these cases on behalf of the organisation.
The statement highlighted that since the political changeover on August 5, 2024, numerous journalists across the country have faced false murder charges and a large number of harassment cases. As a result, many journalists remain imprisoned, while others are forced to regularly appear in court. Their imprisonment has seriously disrupted their normal professional work and severely undermined the independent environment for the media.
The Editors’ Council emphasised that if there are specific, evidence-based allegations against any journalist, they must be resolved through established legal processes and transparent judicial proceedings. For the sake of justice, proper investigations and legal procedures are essential. However, harassing and motivated cases are in no way acceptable.
The statement noted that the Council had repeatedly and politely requested the interim government—led by Muhammad Yunus—to review these cases and withdraw the false and harassing ones. Although assurances were given that the matters would be examined and appropriate actions taken, regrettably, no desired progress has been observed in this regard.
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The Editors’ Council urged the newly elected government to give this issue the highest priority and take swift steps to withdraw the false and harassing cases against journalists.
The statement reiterated that ensuring media freedom and professional security for journalists is a fundamental commitment of any democratic state, expressing the expectation that this will be upheld.
Senior journalist and political analyst Probir Kumar Sarker states that this call comes amid ongoing persecution of journalists during the Yunus-led interim period (from August 2024 onward), including widespread reports of harassment, arbitrary charges, detentions, and mob violence targeting media professionals and outlets. The Council had been supporting the Jamaat-controlled interim government, which is why they were silent, he said.
He added that the Council has remained silent on the mob attacks carried out on over 25 news outlets, newspapers, and TV channels following the political changeover on August 5, 2024, when dozens of media premises were vandalised, torched, or otherwise assaulted in the chaotic aftermath—incidents that contributed to a climate of intimidation against the press.
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