AIP Wire Report, New York—The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has called on Bangladesh to drop a new crimes-against-humanity case against three journalists.
The journalists are Shyamal Dutta, Mozammel Babu, and Farzana Rupa. They are already in detention in separate cases.
Bangladesh’s International Crimes Tribunal has ordered prison authorities to produce the three journalists before the tribunal on August 24. The order relates to allegations connected to the July 2024 uprising.
Prosecutors allege that the journalists helped create a narrative against student protesters. They have also alleged that questions asked at a July 14, 2024, press conference contributed to former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina making remarks against the protesters before the subsequent crackdown.
CPJ has rejected the case and called on the authorities to release the journalists and drop the charges.
“Editorial decisions may be partisan or ethically questionable, but they cannot be criminalized,” CPJ Asia-Pacific Program Coordinator Kunal Majumder said in the statement.
Babu and Rupa are also facing a separate ICT case linked to the 2013 Shapla Chattar security operation. Dutta has been detained since September 2024 and faces several other cases.
The latest development has renewed concerns from international press freedom and human rights organizations about the treatment of journalists in Bangladesh. Earlier this year, several rights and press freedom groups also called for the ICT investigation involving Rupa and Babu to be dropped.
The Ministry of Law and the Office of the Chief Prosecutor did not respond to CPJ’s request for comment, according to the organization.
The three journalists are scheduled to be produced before the tribunal on August 24. The proceedings are expected to determine the next stage of the case.
