Bangladesh's legal framework continues to pose challenges for independent journalism, Attorney General Md Asaduzzaman warned, highlighting that state instruments can still be used to suppress the press.
"The state has left many ways open for journalistic repression. As many stars in the sky, as many sections of the law they are applied to control journalists," he said, underscoring a deeply entrenched culture of regulatory coercion.
Speaking on Monday at a session titled Report on Digital Security Law during the Bay of Bengal Conversation 2025, organised by the Center for Governance Studies in Dhaka, Asaduzzaman traced press repression to the colonial era. He noted that regardless of the ruling party, the impulse to curb media freedom has persisted.
Referring to the Digital Security Law, which replaced the widely criticised Section 57 of the ICT Act, he called the legislation "a fraud," arguing that it replicated the coercive intent of its predecessor despite public consultations. Citing its use by the previous government to intimidate journalists, he stressed that "all repressive laws to silence journalism and stop the pen need to end." He added that merely repealing such laws is insufficient without "a change in the mindset of the state."
The Attorney General also noted positive signs under the current government: no reported enforced disappearances and a decline in extrajudicial killings over the past 17 months. "The police themselves have not filed any disappearance cases, signaling early institutional restraint," he said.
Looking to the future, Asaduzzaman urged incoming political leaders not to revert to policies that criminalise journalism. He emphasised that press freedom must be safeguarded as a democratic imperative and called on the state to "refrain from all types of repressive legal means."
