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The Hindu
04-08-2025
- Politics
- The Hindu
Post-Hasina Bangladesh records 230% increase in attacks on journalists, says rights body
Bangladesh, after the fall of the Sheikh Hasina government, recorded a 230% increase in attacks on journalists, a New Delhi-based rights group said in its report released on Monday (August 4, 2025). The Rights and Risks Analysis Group (RRAG) stated that press freedom in Bangladesh deteriorated under Chief Advisor Muhammad Yunus, with attacks on 878 journalists between August 2024 and July 2025, almost 230% more than the 383 journalists attacked from August 2023 to July 2024, when Ms. Hasina was the Prime Minister. The RRAG said that the number of criminal cases against journalists increased by 558% from 35 cases during 2023-2024 to 195 cases during the first year of Dr. Yunus as the Chief Advisor. 'While the Hasina regime was not known to have denied any accreditation to journalists, Dr. Yunus used accreditation as an instrument to punish the journalists allegedly associated with the previous regime and denied accreditation to 167 of them,' RRAG director Suhas Chakma said. 'Unlike the Hasina regime, the interim government under Dr. Yunus let loose the Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit, the country's anti-money laundering agency, against 107 journalists. Finally, while 348 journalists faced acts of violence and criminal intimidation under Sheikh Hasina's regime, mostly during the July 2024 uprising, 431 journalists faced acts of violence and criminal intimidation under Dr. Yunus,' he said. The RRAG listed a few cases of murder of journalists this year. They included Khandaker Shah Alam, a correspondent of Daily Matrijagat, killed in a targeted retaliation on June 25 after he was released from prison. The report cited the arrest warrant against three journalists of Bangladesh Pratidin under the Digital Security Act on July 27, despite Asif Nazrul, the Law Advisor to the government, declaring that all cases under the Act had been withdrawn. Another case highlighted by the report is that of Konkon Karmakar, who was dismissed by The Daily Star on April 21 after he reported on the death of Bhabesh Chandra Roy, a Hindu, which was picked up by multiple Indian media outlets and flagged by India's Ministry of External Affairs. Mr. Chakma said Dr. Yunus established the 'CA Press Wing Facts', a de facto censorship authority, to 'manufacture the government version of truth and intimidate the media houses and NGOs through disinformation'. The RRAG report stated that a part of the £474,468 provided by the British Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office to strengthen the office of Dr Yunus was used to support the CA Press Wing Facts. The group said Britain should review its support to the interim government of Bangladesh on governance issues and consider withdrawing bilateral support in the light of the silencing of the media in the country.
News18
06-06-2025
- Politics
- News18
Bangladesh Political Killings: Delhi Think Tank To Petition International Criminal Court Against Yunus
RRAG will file a formal complaint, comparing the situation in Bangladesh under Yunus with crimes against humanity committed in Kenya in 2007 and 2008, which were probed by ICC Troubles for Muhammad Yunus may escalate in the coming days as a Delhi-based think tank, The Rights & Risks Analysis Group (RRAG), prepares to petition the International Criminal Court (ICC) against the chief adviser of Bangladesh's interim government. The think tank claims to have built a case alleging a series of political assassinations targeting members of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's party, the now-banned Awami League. The think tank asserts that 'at least" 123 Awami League members have been murdered under Dr Yunus's regime. This includes 41 individuals allegedly hacked to death in a manner reminiscent of Taliban-style killings, the RRAG claims. The think tank has compiled a comprehensive report, reviewed by News18, which it intends to present as evidence at the ICC. The report states that the victims, besides their affiliation with the Awami League, also belonged to associated groups such as the Swechasebak League, Chhatra League, Juba League, Matsojibi League, and Krishak League. They were killed between August 5, 2024, and April 30, 2025, according to the report. The same report alleges 21 custodial deaths of Awami League activists during this period, attributed to torture. 'These murders of the Awami League members are just the tip of the iceberg, as not all the murders of the Awami League members were reported in the local media, and further, the RRAG was not able to monitor all local media. It is, however, clear that even children, women, the mentally unstable, and the seriously injured were not spared," said Suhas Chakma, director of RRAG. The slogan 'Joy Bangla" (Bengali for 'Victory to Bengal" or 'Hail Bengal") was the national slogan of Bangladesh. However, after Hasina's exit, the Supreme Court of Bangladesh ruled in December 2024 that it would no longer be the national slogan. On December 17 last year, a class five student, Mohd Masud Rian, was allegedly murdered by pro-Yunus supporters for a five-month-old Facebook post that read 'Joy Bangla", claims the RRAG. This shocking alleged incident took place in Nachol, Chapaiganj, in Bangladesh. The report meticulously details specific incidents, such as the alleged murder of Awami League worker Babar Ali on August 13, 2024. He was allegedly killed by having his throat slit after being abducted from the front of his house in Bogura district. Another incident highlighted is the alleged murder of Tofazzal, the Kathaltoli Union Chhatra League leader in Patharghata Upazila, a mentally disturbed individual, on September 19, 2024. He was allegedly brutally killed on the Dhaka University campus by a student mob despite his condition. The RRAG insists that among the 1,400 people potentially killed between July 15 and August 5 were Awami League members whose relatives were unable to testify before the inquiry conducted by the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights due to fear of reprisal. At the ICC, the think tank will invoke Article 7 and Article 28 of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court in its case against Md Yunus. In essence, the RRAG will file a formal complaint with the International Criminal Court, drawing parallels between the situation in Bangladesh under Yunus's interim government and the crimes against humanity committed in the context of post-election violence in Kenya in 2007 and 2008, which was investigated by the ICC. First Published: June 06, 2025, 19:37 IST
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First Post
06-06-2025
- Politics
- First Post
Delhi think tank to move ICC against Bangladesh's Yunus: 'Awami League workers hacked to death in Taliban style'
The Rights and Risks Analysis Group drew a parallel between the Bangladesh crisis and 'crimes against humanity committed in the context of post-election violence in Kenya in 2007/2008' read more A Delhi-based think tank, the Rights and Risks Analysis Group (RRAG), has opened a front against Bangladesh's interim government led by Dr. Muhammad Yunus over the alleged deaths of 123 members of Bangladesh's Awami League and its affiliated organisations. Yunus has been leading the South Asian nation since Awami League's Sheikh Hasina was ousted last August following a student-led uprising. Calling Yunus government's alleged actions a 'crime against humanity', the RRAG said it would file a complaint with the International Criminal Court (ICC). STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD The RRAG claimed that among the deceased are at least 41 Awami League members who were reportedly hacked to death, sometimes by throat-slitting in a 'Taliban-style' manner. Moreover, it said 21 others died while in the custody of the interim government. The think tank also drew a parallel between the Bangladesh crisis and 'crimes against humanity committed in the context of post-election violence in Kenya in 2007/2008,' a crisis that the ICC previously investigated. The group said the issue would also be raised with London, ahead of Yunus's scheduled visit to the UK from June 10. (More to follow)
The Hindu
03-05-2025
- Politics
- The Hindu
Yunus-led Bangladesh government has targeted 640 journalists in eight months, says report released on World Press Freedom Day
GUWAHATI The interim Bangladesh government headed by Muhammad Yunus has targeted 640 journalists in eight months to throttle media freedom, an Indian rights group said on Saturday. The New Delhi-based Rights and Risks Analysis Group (RRAG) documented these cases in its report released to mark World Press Freedom Day 2025. The report said the Bangladeshi media had faced systematic and organised repression since the violent ouster of the Sheikh Hasina government in August 2024. This was evident from criminal cases filed against 182 journalists, acts of violence against 206 others, denial of accreditation to 167 more, and inquiries initiated against 85 senior journalists by the Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit, the anti-terror and anti-money laundering arm of the Bangladesh government. The senior journalists are associated with 39 media houses. 'If these were not enough, journalists in Bangladesh have been sacked instantly on the whims and fancies of the leaders of the Anti-Discrimination Students' Movement (ADSM), who have emerged as the holy cows in Bangladesh,' the RRAG report said. The ADSM, led by Hasnat Abdullah, not only attacked The Daily Star and Prothom Alo, two independent dailies, but also trespassed into Somoy TV and forced the owners to sack five journalists, the report said. Rahman Mizan of Deepto TV and Fazle Rabbi of ATN Bangla were summarily terminated from their positions after asking the newly-appointed Cultural Advisor, Mostofa Sarwar Farooki, critical questions on political violence, national unity, public accountability, and the number of people killed during the July-August 2024 political unrest, the RRAG said. 'Such throttling of press freedom was unseen under any previous regime in Bangladesh, and currently, an atmosphere of fear grips the journalists in that country. Next to the Awami League activists, journalists face the most serious risks in Dr. Yunus's Bangladesh,' RRAG director Suhas Chakma said. He also said the interim government had enabled impunity in non-state actors attacking the media, except in three cases where the accused have been arrested for assaults on journalists. The RRAG will submit the report to UN agencies and key actors in the international community, especially donor countries and financial institutions, for appropriate action.
