Bangladesh

(RSF/IFEX) – The following is an 18 December 2002 RSF press release: Campaign for the release of Saleem Samad and Priscilla Raj, held without charge Reporters Without Borders (Reporters sans frontières) today reiterated its call for the release of journalist Saleem Samad and human rights activist Priscilla Raj, who were arrested on 29 and 25 […]

(CPJ/IFEX) – In a 16 December 2002 letter to Prime Minister Khaleda Zia, CPJ stated that it is gravely concerned by the recent arrests of several Bangladeshi journalists who have worked with foreign news agencies. CPJ noted that is especially concerned that journalists Priscilla Raj and Saleem Samad, who were charged with sedition after working […]

(RSF/IFEX) – On 13 December 2002, journalist Enamul Huque Chowdhury, a stringer for the British news agency Reuters, was arrested for reporting that the 7 December bomb attacks on cinemas in the northern town of Mymensingh may have been the work of Al-Qaeda terrorists. He faces two years’ imprisonment. The report quoted Interior Minister Altaf […]

(RSF/IFEX) – RSF welcomes the Bangladeshi authorities’ 11 December 2002 release of two British television journalists after more than two weeks’ detention for alleged anti-state activities. However, the organisation is calling for the “immediate and unconditional” release of the journalists’ local assistants, who remain imprisoned and are being treated as criminals and plotters. Reporter Zaiba […]

(Media Watch/IFEX) – The following is a Media Watch press release: TWO FOREIGN JOURNALISTS DEPORTED On 11 December 2002, the Bangladeshi government deported two foreign journalists, Zaiba Naz Malik and Leopoldo Bruno Sorrentino. State Minister for Foreign Affairs Reaz Rahman announced the deportation of the Channel 4 TV journalists at a press conference, as an […]

(RSF/IFEX) – The police transferred RSF correspondent Saleem Samad to Dhaka central prison on 4 December 2002, after a hearing at which his lawyers and family were unable to gain access to him. Although he had been interrogated for five days, the police handled his transfer to prison in such a way that his lawyer […]

(RSF/IFEX) – On 29 November 2002, RSF strongly condemned the pre-dawn arrest of its correspondent, Saleem Samad, for having assisted two journalists working for British television’s Channel 4, who were themselves arrested on 25 November. There has been no news of Samad since his arrest at 3:00 a.m. (local time) on 29 November in Dhaka. […]

(RSF/IFEX) – The English version of the RSF Bangladesh alert issued earlier on 29 November incorrectly stated that the Channel 4 journalists were preparing a report on terrorism, when in fact the journalists were preparing a report on the country. RSF regrets the error. A corrected version of the English text is copied below: On […]

(CPJ/IFEX) – The following is a 26 November 2002 CPJ press release: BANGLADESH: Detained journalists accused of anti-state activities New York, November 26, 2002–The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) condemns the arrest in Bangladesh yesterday of three journalists working on a documentary for Britain’s Channel 4 “Unreported World” series. Reporter Zaiba Malik, director and cameraman […]

(RSF/IFEX) – On 26 November 2002, RSF demanded the immediate release of a four-member British television crew arrested on 25 November at the Indian border. The organisation also called for an end to official harassment of RSF’s Bangladesh correspondent and his family. “The Bangladesh authorities say they have nothing to hide about the country’s political […]

(RSF/IFEX) – On 4 November 2002, RSF condemned the arrest of five journalists from the privately-owned media over the course of one week. The organisation called for the immediate release of one of the journalists and demanded that Interior Minister Altaf Hossain Chowdhury explain why three others were arrested. RSF also urged the Education Ministry […]

(RSF/IFEX) – RSF has protested the government’s closure of Bangladesh’s leading television station, Ekushey Television (ETV), just one hour after the Supreme Court upheld the withdrawal of its licence on 29 August 2002. “The intransigence and haste of the authorities responsible for implementing this judicial decision seems to have been an act of revenge against […]

(RSF/IFEX) – RSF and the Bangladesh Centre for Development, Journalism and Communication (BCDJC) have expressed their grave concern following an assassination attempt on journalist Belal Chowdhury and death threats against four other reporters by Islamic fundamentalists in Faridpur, west of the capital, Dhaka. “Fundamentalists seem to hold sway in the city and journalists who try […]

(RSF/IFEX) – On 7 August 2002, RSF and the Bangladesh Centre for Development, Journalism and Communication (BCDJC) voiced their utmost concern over an attack on the printing press used by “Andoloner Bazar” and three other provincial daily newspapers in Kushtia (south-western Bangladesh) and the authorities’ failure to respond adequately to earlier attacks on journalists by […]

(RSF/IFEX) – On 29 July 2002, RSF and the Bangladesh Centre for Development, Journalism and Communication (BCDJC) expressed great concern over the Bangladeshi government’s threat to prosecute the independent daily newspaper “Janakantha” for sedition, in an attempt to force it to reveal its sources for two articles about corruption in police appointments. “The government has […]

(Media Watch/IFEX) – The following is a 23 July 2002 Media Watch press release: WORLD BANK’S OBSERVATIONS ON BANGLADESH MEDIA MEDIA WATCH: In a report on good governance in Bangladesh, the World Bank has observed, “The press’s effectiveness as agents of accountability towards ensuring good governance in the country is constrained by a number of […]