KATHMANDU, Aug 25: A special tribunal in Bangladesh has ordered three journalists to remain in custody until the conclusion of proceedings in a crimes-against-humanity case linked to the 2024 student-led uprising. International human rights and press freedom organizations have objected to their arrest and the denial of bail, calling for the charges to be dropped.
The tribunal ordered the detention of Mozammel Babu, editor-in-chief of Ekattor TV; chief correspondent Farzana Rupa; and Shyamal Dutta, editor of Daily Bhorer Kagoj and former secretary-general of the National Press Club. They appeared before the tribunal on Monday. The judge scheduled the next hearing for October 25 and ordered investigators to submit their report.
Prosecutors have accused the three journalists of inciting then-Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to suppress student protesters. According to the prosecution, they asked provocative questions about the protesters during a press conference on July 14, 2024, which allegedly prompted Hasina to make inflammatory remarks against the demonstrators and subsequently launch a violent crackdown on the movement.
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Hundreds of people were killed during the July-August 2024 protests. Under mounting pressure from the movement, Hasina fled to India on August 5, 2024. She has since been tried in absentia on charges of crimes against humanity and sentenced to death.
Following Hasina’s departure, the interim government led by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Muhammad Yunus arrested the three journalists. They are facing charges related to killings and other alleged offenses committed during the protests. Their families have claimed that they are being unlawfully detained.
Kunal Majumdar, Asia-Pacific program coordinator at the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), said it was deeply concerning that journalists were facing crimes-against-humanity charges simply for asking questions at a press conference. He said editorial decisions could be controversial but should not be criminalized, and called for the immediate release of all three journalists and dismissal of the charges.
Meanwhile, Hasina, who remains in India, has said she will return to Bangladesh in December. The Bangladeshi government has requested her extradition from India, but India has rejected the request.
