R2F panel discussion on Dissent Criminalized: The State of Freedom of Speech in Bangladesh.
R2F panel discussion on Dissent Criminalized: The State of Freedom of Speech in Bangladesh. DSA is a government tool used to silence journalists in Bangladesh The human rights organization, Right to Freedom (R2F) in association with the South Asia Perspectives organized a panel discussion on December 05 at the National Press Club, Washington, titled “Dissent […]
What’s Next for Bangladeshi Politics?
What’s Next for Bangladeshi Politics? Since July 2022, Bangladeshi opposition parties, especially the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), have been holding rallies throughout the country. Though Bangladesh has experienced political volatility and regular general strikes in the past, the ruling Bangladesh Awami League (BAL) has held a monopoly on organizing political rallies and cracked down on public demonstrations by opposition parties […]
World closely monitoring Bangladesh govt’s actions
A total of 15 press freedom and human rights organizations, including the Committee to Protect Journalists, have said that the Bangladesh government should be aware that the world is closely monitoring its retaliatory actions against family members of exiled journalists and government critics. They asked the Bangladesh government to release Nusrat Shahrin Raka, sister of […]
Alarming offensive by Bangladesh’s ruling party against journalists based abroad
Reporters Without Borders (RSF) calls on the leaders of the Awami League, the party that has ruled Bangladesh since 2009, to end all intimidation of journalists who dare to continue criticising Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s policies after fleeing the country.Pressure on family members, judicial harassment and even physical violence have been used by Awami League […]
Bangladesh’s Awami League-led government doubled down on an authoritarian crackdown: HRW
Bangladesh’s Awami League-led government doubled down on an authoritarian crackdown on free speech, arresting critics, and censoring media. Arrests under the abusive Digital Security Act (DSA) increased dramatically. Impunity for abuses by security forces, including enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings, remained pervasive. Host to nearly 1 million Rohingya refugees from neighboring Myanmar, Bangladesh kept its […]
The U.S. Has a Police Brutality Problem. So Does Bangladesh.
Dhaka’s denial of extrajudicial killings is imperiling its relations with Washington and exposing the country’s corrupt police and undemocratic institutions. Nazmul Ahasan, a Bangladeshi journalist currently with the Investigative Reporting Program at the University of California, Berkeley. Curtesy: FP At midnight on May 26, 2018, Ekramul Haque’s daughters were trying to reach their father, who […]
How Bangladesh’s Digital Security Act Is Creating a Culture of Fear
Dhaka’s abstention in Ukraine vote is an anomaly The Bangladeshi government has used a vaguely worded law on digital security to crack down on its critics and dispel online dissent. Author and social activist Mushtaq Ahmed died in a Bangladeshi jail on February 25, 2021, after being detained and allegedly tortured for social media posts critical of the government. […]
Scars Of Torture All Over Him
Cartoonist Kishore describes his ordeal to The Daily Star hours after getting out on bail “If you come close to me you will smell the pus.” This was the first statement by Ahmed Kabir Kishore to this correspondent. He was released from Kashimpur Central Jail-2, on bail, around 12:20pm — mere hours back. The cartoonist […]
AL consolidated power through sustained harassment of opposition: Report
The ruling Awami League (AL) has consolidated political power through sustained harassment of the opposition and those perceived to be allied with it, as well as of critical media and voices in civil society. Corruption is a serious problem, and anticorruption efforts have been weakened by politicized enforcement. Due process guarantees are poorly upheld and […]
India-Bangladesh Relations
Bangladesh-India relationship has always been an issue of intense discussions and debate among academics, policy makers and activists. Both governments claim that these two countries are enjoying a very warm and unprecedented close relationship, while critics have argued that the relationship has been lopsided in favor of India. Several recent events, including two visits of […]