Journalists fear crackdown in Bangladesh

Tensions rise after media houses critical of the ruling party are shut down.

 

Newspapers which are critical of Bangladesh's ruling party risk being shut down, say analysts [Reuters]

Dhaka, Bangladesh - Media workers here in Bangladesh's capital fear that ever-greater restrictions are being imposed upon them by officials. Two Bengali daily newspapers and two television channels, all reportedly with links to the country's opposition movement, have been shut down "temporarily" over the past year.

Furthermore, as the government begins its second term in power, the ruling party has said that a National Broadcasting Policy for private television channels would soon be brought in to ensure "free and fair media practices".

Critics say this is an ominous sign for the freedom of the press.

"Whenever a government talks about a media policy, they are in fact talking about controlling the media to their own convenience," said Nurul Kabir, editor of New Age.

 

'Temporary' shutdown of media houses

Inqilab, one of the nation's oldest Bengali-language newspapers, was shut down "temporarily" on January 16, after the daily published a report: "Indian troops assist in joint forces operation in Satkhira." The paper continues to publish news online, despite its physical presses being stopped.

Whenever a government talks about a media policy, they are in fact talking about controlling the media for their own convenience. - Nurul Kabir, New Age editor

The article had attempted to investigate a series of rumours and documents doing the rounds on social network websites, which claimed that Indian soldiers had taken part in an operation in violence-torn Satkhira, a border district in the country's south-west, before the national polls took place on January 5.

After the report's publication, four journalists, including Ahmed Atiq, the story's lead reporter, were arrested at the Inqilab offices.

"The printing house of the Bangla daily Inqilab has been closed for running a misleading report," said Information Minister Hasanul Huq Inu on January 17. "It will be reopened if the Inqilab authorities win in the case filed for running the report."

A case was filed by the government complaining that the "baseless" and "fabricated" report had tried to "demean the image of the country and the military".

A Dhaka court on January 20 granted a two-day remand for detained Ahmed Atiq and sent Inqilab's news editor, Rabiulla Robi, and deputy chief reporter, Rafiq Mohammad, to jail.

Syed Ahmed Gazi, Inquilab's defence lawyer, said that sources for the article were attributed at the court. "Although action is being taken against the reporters, with Atiq being taken into [custody], the shutdown of the daily is unreasonable. The government did not show any valid logic behind shutting down the daily's print edition," he told Al Jazeera.

While questioning the credibility of the report, Shahed Chowdhury, President of Dhaka Reporters Unity said the government could have protested against the report through an official rejoinder, which is the normal practice here - "rather than arresting the journalists".

Journalists in Bangladesh feared that Inqilab may suffer the same fate as Amar Desh, another pro-opposition Bangla daily, whose printing press was raided and sealed by police in April 2013, after the arrest of editor Mahmudur Rahman, a critic of the ruling party. 

Despite a High Court ruling on August 7, 2013, asking the government to explain why its obstruction of the press should not be declared illegal, Amar Desh's lawyer said the government had not responded - nor had there been a hearing following the judgment.

On May 6, 2013, the broadcast signal of Diganta Television and Islamic Television, two pro-opposition TV stations, was suspended - on charges of inciting religious extremism and causing social unrest. Both channels had tried to cover the Hifazat-e-Islam rally in Dhaka earlier in the day.

"To make investigations easier, we had provided 24-hour footage of our channel and that of pro-ruling party television channels of the said day," Shams Eskander, managing director of Islamic Television, told Al Jazeera. "We had also requested the Information Ministry let us initiate transmission without airing the news. But none of our requests were granted."

 

Investigations on whether they had ulterior motives behind their broadcasts and publication, are still going on... Inqilab has already regretted and apologised for its report. By making such statements, the opposition is resorting to falsehood. - Hasanul Huq Inu, Information Minister

When asked about the fate of these media houses, Information Minister Inu told Al Jazeera that they remained under suspicion. "Investigations on whether they had ulterior motives behind their broadcasts and publication, are still going on. The matters will be decided once the investigation ends," he said.

Referring to the opposition's allegations that the four media outlets were shut down due to any alleged political stances they may have taken, Inu said: "These allegations are baseless. For example, Inqilab has already regretted and apologised for its report. By making such statements, the opposition is resorting to falsehood."

National broadcasting policy

Many journalists, especially among TV outlets, are wary of the draft National Broadcasting Policy.

The proposal includes guidelines for broadcasting; licensing as well as advertisements, and also a section about the nature of programmes that would be deemed "improper".  

With 40 rules and regulations, covering 46 approved government and private television channels, the policy contains several clauses that delineate boundaries that programming must not cross. The policy also empowers the information ministry to make all necessary decisions regarding broadcasting licenses.

"The policy will be passed within a few months," Inu told Al Jazeera. "We will have another discussion with the stakeholders on January 29, where we will seek more feedback."

'Violation of media freedom'

Nurul Kabir, of New Age, maintains that the goal of the policy is to stifle dissenting voices. 

"Given the fact that the incumbents of the day have closed two television stations and two mainstream newspapers, it's only natural that they are planning to control the media in general for own political convenience," he said. "This is a clear violation of democratic freedom of expression of the media as well as of the people in general."

While criticising Inqilab's report for being "politically biased", Fahmidul Haq, associate professor of mass communication and journalism at the University of Dhaka, said arbitrary shutdowns of media houses were an ominous sign of the government disregard for legal procedures.

"Any policy that can give the government a right to cancel licences or curb criticism of government activities will be a violation of media freedom," he concluded. Source: Al Jazeera

Bangladesh: End Spate of Extrajudicial Killings

Bangladesh: End Spate of Extrajudicial Killings

Opposition Members Killed in Post-Election Crackdown

         

(New York) –The Bangladeshi government should authorize an independent investigation into a recent spate of alleged extrajudicial killings by security forces, Human Rights Watch said today. The government should publicly order law enforcement agencies to ensure the safety of all those taken into custody.
Joint Forces consisting of the Bangladesh Police, the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB), and the Border Guards Bangladesh continue to arrest opposition supporters, some of whom are accused of involvement in violent protests before and during the January 5, 2014 elections which were boycotted by opposition parties. Security forces claim that the deaths after arrest occurred during “crossfire,” which Human Rights Watch has previously documented is used by security forces as a common euphemism to describe what they claim to be shootouts, but which in reality appears to be the killing of people already in detention.
“We are seeing a frightening pattern of supposed ‘crossfire’ killings of opposition members in Bangladesh,” said Brad Adams, Asia director. “The Bangladeshi government needs to ensure proper control of the security forces and order an independent and credible investigation into these deaths.”
On January 21, the State Minister for Home Affairs Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal said that the Joint Forces were engaged in an operation against “terrorists” and that none of those involved in violence before the elections “will be spared.” More than 150 people died before the polls, the bloodiest in Bangladesh’s history. Many were ordinary citizens whose vehicles were set on fire by opposition supporters.
Human Rights Watch interviews suggest a recent pattern of extrajudicial killings by security forces. Azharul Islam, a leader of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party’s (BNP) student wing in Satkhira district, was killed on January 27, a day after his arrest for murder and for taking part in the pre-election violence, a police spokesman said. The police said he died in crossfire when he was leading the police to an opposition “hideout.”
Two members of Jamaat-e-Islami’s student wing died in similar circumstances in Satkhira on January 26. The police said that Abul Kalam and Maruf died after receiving wounds during a gunfight a day after they were arrested. The police said that they were leading the Joint Forces to a place where other suspects were hiding when the security forces came under attack. Police said three police officers were injured.
Another Jamaat member, Tarique Mohammad Saiful Islam, was killed in alleged “crossfire” on January 20, a day after he was arrested. The police said he died while leading investigators to a place where Jamaat activists were hiding firearms.
Killings in custody escalateIn each case the police said they only opened fire after coming under attack.
Also among those who have died recently are two BNP members accused of involvement in one of the worst incidents of pre-election violence. Atiqul Islam Atiq and Golam Rabbani were both wanted by the police in connection with an attack on the motorcade of ruling party Member of Parliament Asaduzzaman Noor,on December 14, 2013.
According to the police, the attackers killed five people, including four members of the Awami League. The police charged 1,500 people with involvement in the attack and named 14 ringleaders, including Atiqul Islam Atiq and Golam Rabbani. According to a relative of Atiq, he was taken from his house, along with a cousin, Mohidul Islam, on January 13, 2014, by five or six men who said they were from the detective branch of the police. The police told family members that he was first taken to Deldowar police station and then to Tangail district headquarters. Atiq’s body was subsequently discovered by the side of a road on January 20 with a bullet injury to the back of the head. Mohidul Islam is still missing.
According to relatives, Golam Rabbani was taken away by a large group of men at dawn on January 15. The men wore black uniforms resembling those of the RAB, but they were not carrying rifles. The RAB does not have a camp in the area, and denied any knowledge of Rabbani’s detention when questioned informally through friends and relatives who work for the RAB. The police also denied knowledge of his whereabouts. Rabbani’s body was found on January 19 with two bullet wounds to his head and a rope around his neck. A relative who saw his corpse said it was bruised in several places, suggesting he had been tortured.
Rabbani’s wife, Shahnaz Begum, told Human Rights Watch that he should have been put on trial and punished if found guilty. “I would even have accepted him being hanged after a proper trial. But what happened to him was murder and I seek justice from the Bangladeshi government,” she said.
A member of Jamaat’s student wing, Shibir, described to Human Rights Watch how he was beaten several times after he was arrested in Dhaka in October 2013:

“Seven to eight people beat me with fists, kicks, and a stick. I was handcuffed and one man held me and another one beat me. He knocked me to the ground, on the spot, there in the police station.”

The man said he was arrested along with two other men while leaving a mosque. He said the police believed they were a gang, but he said he had never seen the others before. He was released three months later. For most of that time he was held in Kashimpur prison, outside Dhaka:

“There were 200 in my cell, most were members of the 18-party alliance [opposition]. It was so hot, it was suffocating. There were no beds, people slept on the floor. One of the men was a student from Mirpur. He was also a member of Jamaat-Shibir. He had been beaten with a hammer. Every joint was badly swollen and he was not given proper treatment. He could not feed himself or even go to the toilet without help.”

Human Rights Watch called on the government to publicly order the security forces to follow the United Nations Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms by Law Enforcement Officials, which state that security forces shall “apply non-violent means before resorting to the use of force and firearms.” Section 22 states that: “Governments and law enforcement agencies shall establish effective reporting and review procedures for all incidents... In cases of death and serious injury or other grave consequences, a detailed report shall be sent promptly to the competent authorities responsible for administrative review and judicial control.” Section 23 states that: “Persons affected by the use of force and firearms or their legal representatives shall have access to an independent process, including a judicial process. In the event of the death of such persons, this provision shall apply to their dependents accordingly.”
“The situation in Bangladesh is spiraling into a human rights crisis, with the possible return of suspicious killings by security forces, which we haven’t seen in recent years,” Adams said. “The governing Awami League complained bitterly about crossfire killings while in opposition, but it doesn’t seem to be doing anything to stop them now that it’s in power. It’s time for the prime minister to make a public statement condemning killings and torture, and hold the security forces accountable.”