Dhaka Correspondent:
Bangladesh Mofusal Journalists Forum (BMSF) Board of Trustees Chairman Ahmed Abu Zafar has said that no case should be filed against journalists unless the truth is proven in the initial investigation.
In a statement sent to the media on Saturday, he said that filing a case against a professional journalist without any kind of police investigation is a direct interference on the freedom of the media. It is highly motivated.
He alleged that a case was filed in 2025 in connection with the vandalism of a political office of a BNP affiliate in 2023 and several contractors, including journalists, have also been accused in it. He termed such a move as a major obstacle to the independent and professional work of journalists.
In the statement, he also said that journalists are fed up with one after another false, unwanted and motivated cases in different districts and upazilas of the country.
Citing examples of several cases filed against journalists recently, he said – the re-arrest of journalist Mobarak Biswas in Pabna on the eve of his release after serving six months in prison, the case filed by the Forest Department against four journalists including BMSF General Secretary Shafiqul Islam Sabuj in Bhaluka, Mymensingh,
the murder case against Gazipur representative Mujahid of Nayadiganta, the case filed by Bakhrabad Gas Company in Brahmanbaria – all these are direct threats to the freedom and professionalism of journalism.
In addition, citing statistics on attacks on journalists, he said that journalist Kamrul Hasan and his wife were beaten up for publishing news about extortion in Khilkhet in the capital. Last Friday, three people, including female journalist Ruma, were attacked and injured and subjected to sexual harassment while they went to Jatrabari to collect information. A journalist was also brutally beaten up and injured in Kaliganj, Gazipur.
Ahmed Abu Zafar said, “The voice of the media cannot be silenced through harassment and torture of journalists. The police must play a more sincere and responsible role.”