Bangladesh Court Keeps Three Journalists in Custody Pending Trial
A Bangladeshi tribunal ordered three journalists to remain jailed until trial over charges linked to the 2024 student uprising that ousted Sheikh Hasina.
A special tribunal in Dhaka on Monday directed that three journalists remain in custody until their trial in a case connected to the 2024 mass uprising that led to the ouster of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, according to lawyers involved in the proceedings.
The detained journalists are Mozammel Babu, editor-in-chief of private broadcaster Ekattor Television; Farzana Rupa, the channel's principal correspondent; and Shyamal Dutta, editor of the daily Bhorer Kagoj and former general secretary of the National Press Club in Dhaka.
After the trio appeared before the tribunal, the judge scheduled the next hearing for October 25 and instructed investigators to submit their findings against the accused.
Prosecutors allege that the journalists incited the suppression of student demonstrators during the uprising. They claim that at a press conference on July 14, 2024, the journalists asked Hasina provocative questions that led her to make disparaging remarks about protesters before a violent crackdown that resulted in hundreds of deaths.
The journalists have been in custody for years since Hasina's removal, facing charges including murder related to the July-August 2024 unrest. They were arrested during the interim government led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, who later handed power to a new administration in February.
Families of the journalists have complained that their detention is illegal. Global human rights organizations have also criticized the jailing and denial of bail, urging the government to drop the charges and stop criminalizing news reporting.
Kunal Majumder, Asia-Pacific Program Coordinator at the Committee to Protect Journalists, called the case "outrageous and deeply troubling," stating that editorial decisions cannot be criminalized and that such actions undermine Bangladesh's democratic reputation. He demanded the immediate release of the three journalists and the withdrawal of charges.
Hasina, who fled to India on August 5, 2024, has been tried in absentia and sentenced to death on crimes-against-humanity charges. She recently indicated she plans to return to Bangladesh in December. Both the Yunus-led government and the current administration of Prime Minister Tarique Rahman have sought Hasina's extradition from India, but New Delhi has refused.