Dhaka, July 3 A group of 88 expatriate journalists, writers, researchers, cultural and rights activists has raised grave concern over the "continued torture of journalists and suppression of free speech" in Bangladesh under the Muhammad Yunus-led interim government.
In a joint statement, the group alleged that since August 5, journalists in the country have been subjected to unspeakable torture, adding that such incidents have "frustrated and disheartened" them.
They alleged that efforts are being made to suppress freedom of speech under the Yunus administration by "imposing various official and unofficial controls" on both mass media and social media, denouncing it as "shameful and repulsive".
According to the statement, issued on Wednesday, over the past 11 months under the interim government, journalists in the country have been continuously tortured at various stages and processes.
During this period, at least 412 journalists have been implicated in harassment cases, including some charged with murder. A total of 39 journalists have been arrested.
The bank accounts of more than 100 journalists have been frozen, and over 300 journalists have been barred from travelling abroad.
The signatories alleged that the Anti-Corruption Commission has filed harassment cases against the journalist.
Additionally, more than a thousand journalists in the country, including those in Dhaka, have been forced to leave their jobs.
The press accreditation cards of 168 journalists have been revoked, while the membership of 101 journalists in various press clubs, including the National Press Club, has been suspended, cancelled, or expelled. They claimed that the control of a media house was also taken over.
The statement mentioned that 10 journalists were killed and many were injured in last year's July protest, and the government has not provided any relief to the families of the victims.
It further stated that the people in Bangladesh have also witnessed incidents like 'mobs' organised in front of a media house -- an event, which the signatories described as unprecedented, not only in Bangladesh but anywhere in the world.
The expatriates in the statement claimed that due to these repressive actions, many journalists and their families are suffering mentally, socially, and economically, and living a deplorable life, which continues to rise.
They asserted that such repression has significantly contributed to silencing free speech and tarnishing the image of Bangladesh on a global stage.
The statement stressed that despite the widespread repression and mass filing of cases, the interim government has failed to take any preventive steps.
"This made us suspect that the government itself has been involved in the repressive events," they added.
They described the present level of repression against journalists and media suppression as unmatched in Bangladesh's history and questioned whether such conditions exist anywhere in the democratic world.
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