CPJ Urges Bangladesh to Drop Crimes Against Humanity Charges Against Three Journalists

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has called on Bangladeshi authorities to immediately drop cases of crimes against humanity filed against journalists Shyamal Dutta, Mozammel Babu, and Farzana Rupa. The New York-based press freedom advocacy group urged the government to cease criminalizing journalism.

The call came in a report published Tuesday on the CPJ website. According to media reports cited by the organization, the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) of Bangladesh issued an order on Monday requiring prison authorities to produce the three journalists in court on August 24. They have been detained on various charges since 2024.

Prosecutors allege that the journalists incited the suppression of student protesters during the July 2024 uprising that led to the ouster of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. Specifically, legal officials claim that during a press conference on July 14, 2024, the journalists posed provocative questions to the then-prime minister, which prompted her to make derogatory remarks about protesters and allegedly triggered a violent crackdown.

Kunal Majumder, CPJ’s Asia program coordinator, described the use of crimes against humanity charges against the journalists as an alarming development. He stated that while editorial decisions may be perceived as biased or ethically questionable, they do not constitute criminal acts. Majumder warned that treating editorial choices as crimes sets a dangerous precedent and undermines Bangladesh’s democratic standing, urging authorities to release the journalists and dismiss the charges immediately.

Mozammel Babu, the former editor-in-chief of Ekattor TV, and Farzana Rupa, the channel’s former chief reporter, were previously arrested in connection with a separate ICT case regarding the 2013 crackdown on a Hefazat-e-Islam rally in Dhaka’s Shapla Chattar. Their names were included in a formal charge sheet filed on July 27, which also lists Sheikh Hasina and 38 others as defendants.

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Shyamal Dutta, editor of the Daily Bhorer Kagoj and former general secretary of the National Press Club, has been in custody since September 2024. The CPJ report notes that he faces multiple murder charges, which the organization characterizes as retaliatory actions for his journalistic work. If convicted, the journalists could face the death penalty, as the ICT lacks specific sentencing guidelines for the offenses cited.

The tribunal was historically used by the administration of Sheikh Hasina and her Awami League party to prosecute political opponents. Following the political transition in August 2024, the new administration has reconstituted the tribunal and amended the ICT law to facilitate the prosecution of figures associated with the former government, including Hasina.

The CPJ stated that it reached out to the Bangladeshi Ministry of Law and the Office of the Chief Prosecutor for comment via email but received no response.