Dhaka, Jan 22 Bangladesh’s interim government led by Muhammad Yunus has committed its most "disgraceful act" by permitting the use of anti-terror laws to arrest journalists across the country, resulting in pre-trial detention for months on "extraordinary", often "outlandish charges", including murder, a report highlighted on Thursday.
Citing an independent New Delhi-based think tank, Rights and Risks Analysis Group, it said that by December 2025, the Yunus-led interim government had targetted 640 journalists using combinations of criminal prosecutions, financial investigations, and physical violence.
According to a report in The Diplomat, Dhaka-based journalist Anis Alamgir, arrested on December 14 last year, remains in custody awaiting trial, facing anti-terrorism charges for criticising government policy on social media. Journalist Monjurul Alam Panna was charged identically for his participation in a constitutional law discussion on August 28 last year, an exercise in political speech widely recognised as protected expression globally.
Despite these reports of prosecution, it said, Yunus' Press Secretary, Shafiqul Alam, insisted that there has not been “a single instance in which a journalist has been prosecuted for criticising this government,” adding that “you are free to write anything.”
“Weaponised legalism allows governments to use legislation to criminalise journalism under the guise of legal procedure. Unlike crude censorship, which invites international condemnation, weaponised legalism operates through courts, legislatures, and law enforcement — the very institutions supposedly protecting press freedom,” the report detailed.
“Bangladesh’s anti-terrorism legislation exemplifies this approach. The Anti-Terrorism Act permits indefinite detention without judicial warrant, custodial interrogation extending to 24 days, and convictions carrying life sentences. More critically, it defines terrorism as any act ‘intended to cause fear or insecurity in the public’ or ‘to destabilise’ governmental operations,” The Diplomat report mentioned.
Bangladeshi journalists, the report said, are increasingly reluctant to speak on the issue, citing fears about personal safety.
One newsroom chief in Dhaka, The Diplomat said, speaking on condition of anonymity, felt “scared and unsafe to criticise the government for fear of mob attacks” and alleged that reporters are “purposely self-censoring” their work “to survive.” The climate of fear intensified in December, when mobs attacked and set ablaze the offices of Bangladeshi newspapers The Daily Star and Prothom Alo, calling them pro-India and pro-Hasina by the country’s far right.
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