The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has called on Prime Minister Tarique Rahman to fulfil his election pledge to protect press freedom in Bangladesh.
It has urged Tarique Rahman to break what it called Bangladesh’s “cycle of partisan persecution” of journalists and take immediate steps to protect press freedom.
In a report published on its website on Tuesday, the international media rights organisation presented a 10-point set of recommendations aimed at strengthening media freedom and ensuring a safer environment for journalists.
The CPJ urged the government to take necessary steps to uphold freedom of the press and implement reforms that would enable journalists to work without fear or interference.
The 10 key steps to restoring press freedom in Bangladesh are:
1. End the use of the criminal justice system against journalists.
Dozens of journalists who produced coverage seen as supportive of Hasina have been detained or charged since August 2024. Often authorities criminalize journalists with First Information Reports- documents that open an investigation- that name hundreds of people, or are filed against unidentified individuals and subsequently used to accuse a reporter of wrongdoing. Authorities also target individual journalists with multiple cases at once to obstruct bail.
CPJ reminds the government that these cases continue to do harm and that acknowledgment must be followed with action.
2. Stop the International Crimes Tribunal being used against journalists.
The International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) is being deployed against journalists for their editorial work. The government must ensure the ICT is not used to penalize journalism; conduct an independent review of all ICT cases involving journalists; and introduce safeguards to prevent atrocity charges from being applied to journalistic work.
3. Ensure accountability for crimes against journalists, regardless of politics.
Journalists have been killed, attacked, surveilled, and arbitrarily detained under both the Hasina government and the interim administration. The government must ensure that investigations and prosecutions of crimes against journalists, under whichever administration they occurred, are conducted impartially and without the use of the death penalty.
4. Protect journalists and newsrooms from mob violence.
Journalists and media outlets in Bangladesh face violence and intimidation from organized groups and political party supporters. The government must condemn this violence and direct authorities to conduct prompt and impartial investigations into attacks on the press, and hold perpetrators accountable regardless of political affiliation.
5. Replace the Cyber Protection Act, 2026 and dismiss politically motivated cybercrime cases.
The Cyber Protection Act, 2026-enacted by the newly elected government to replace Cyber Protection Ordinance, 2025, the Cyber Security Act, 2023, and the Digital Security Act, 2018 -retains the vague definitions and weak judicial oversight that made its predecessors instruments of press repression. The government must replace or substantially amend the statutes to align them with international standards and clearly protect journalistic work. It should also establish a transparent and independent review process, and dismiss cases filed against journalists under the current and previous cybercrime laws.
6. Reform the Anti-Terrorism Act, 2009 to end its use against journalists.
The Anti-Terrorism Act, 2009-along with statutes like the Special Powers Act, 1974 and the Official Secrets Act, 1923-has been used to detain and prosecute journalists. The government must replace or substantially amend these statutes to bring them into line with international human rights standards, narrow the definition of terrorism, and introduce an explicit exemption protecting legitimate journalism.
7. Withdraw the draft media regulatory ordinances and implement the Media Reform Commission’s recommendations.
The draft National Broadcast Commission Ordinance and the draft National Media Commission Ordinance, 2026 risk creating regulators that could be used to control broadcast and print media, much like the system under Hasina. The Media Reform Commission established by the interim government produced substantive recommendations on press freedom and regulatory independence, but they have not been implemented.
The government should not adopt the draft ordinances in their current forms and should instead implement the commission’s recommendations through a transparent, multi-stakeholder process that guarantees the independence of any media regulator.
8. Repeal or amend the legacy laws and surveillance frameworks used to silence journalists.
The government should repeal or substantially amend the Official Secrets Act, 1923; repeal the criminal defamation provisions of the Penal Code, 1860; and amend the Special Powers Act, 1974 to ensure it cannot be used to arbitrarily detain journalists. It should also reform the surveillance and interception provisions of the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulation Act, 2001 to require independent judicial oversight and stop warrantless interception by security agencies.
9. Reform the accreditation system and establish safeguards against abusive litigation.
The government must reform the accreditation system so that credentials cannot be revoked on the basis of allegations; introduce anti-SLAPP safeguards, including early dismissal mechanisms, drawing on international best practice; and ensure that any data protection framework includes robust exemptions for journalism.
10. End the smearing and vilification of journalists.
The government must ensure no state body is used to smear journalists or to question their loyalty to the nation or Islam. Journalism is protected under Article 39 of the Constitution of Bangladesh and by Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which Bangladesh is a party.
The government must make clear and repeated public statements affirming that independent journalism is a constitutional right and a democratic necessity, and that those who incite violence against the press through vilification will be held accountable.
bd-pratidin/GR
