Rights groups urge Bangladesh to free four journalists

Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, the Committee to Protect Journalists, ARTICLE 19 and CIVICUS named Farzana Rupa, Shakil Ahmed, Mozammel Babu and Shyamal Dutta

Five international rights and press freedom organisations have called on Bangladesh to release four journalists arrested after the July Uprising and drop tribunal proceedings linked to their work.

In a joint statement on Wednesday, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, the Committee to Protect Journalists, ARTICLE 19 and CIVICUS named Farzana Rupa, Shakil Ahmed, Mozammel Babu and Shyamal Dutta.

The groups said Bangladesh should ensure that journalists are not criminally prosecuted -- particularly for crimes against humanity -- for their reporting.

Their concern has grown after the International Crimes Tribunal intensified its investigation against Rupa and Babu, part-owned private Ekattor TV station, over their coverage of the 2013 Shapla Chattar crackdown in Dhaka’s Motijheel.

The death toll from the law enforcers’ operation against a Hifazat-e Islam rally on May 5 and 6, 2013 remains contested.

On May 14, the ICT showed Rupa and Babu arrested in a case accusing them of spreading misleading information about casualty figures and contributing to crimes against humanity.

“Decisions about how to cover a contested political incident should not be criminalised, let alone prosecuted as crimes against humanity,” the organisations said.

“The suggestion that such conduct could amount to an international crime is wrong as a matter of law.”

They said proceedings “without a legal foundation” create a chilling effect on journalists and media outlets in Bangladesh.

The organisations also said the four journalists remain in custody in cases linked to alleged crimes against humanity during the 2024 protests, although no charge sheet has been filed against them.

They expressed concern that authorities had not explained how journalistic work during the uprising could be characterised as murder.

“These are among thousands of murder cases filed against perceived supporters of the former government, many of which are based on no known evidence,” the statement said.

The groups said action against Rupa and Babu at the ICT runs counter to Bangladesh’s obligations under Articles 15 and 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which Bangladesh is a party.

They urged the government to ensure that any prosecution investigation does not name Rupa and Babu as suspects solely because of their journalism.

They also called for an independent and impartial review mechanism to examine ICT cases involving journalists and assess whether any prosecution is based only on legitimate journalistic activity.

Referring to the BNP government’s election pledge to end the persecution of journalists, the organisations said Bangladesh should now turn that commitment into action.

“We call on the government of Bangladesh to translate that commitment into concrete action, beginning with the cases described above,” they said.