Bangladesh Leads Asia-Pacific in Imprisoning Journalists

In an extortion case, the High Court on Tuesday rejected the bail petition of former Managing Director and Editor-in-Chief of Ekattor TV, Mozammel Haque Babu. According to media reports, the case was filed on January 11, 2025. He is accused of abducting Humayun Kabir, a shareholder of Boishakhi TV, from his residence in 2007, forcibly transferring shares, and extorting 45 million taka.

According to media information, Mozammel Babu is currently facing a total of five cases.

Among them, four are murder cases filed during the July–August 2024 protests. In addition to Mozammel Babu, journalists Shyamal Dutta, Shakil Ahmed, and Farzana Rupa also remain imprisoned. Journalist Shawkat Mahmood has also been arrested under the Anti-Terrorism Act.

According to the annual prison census of the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), for the fifth consecutive year, more than 300 journalists worldwide remained imprisoned through the end of 2025.

The report states that in many cases journalists are detained in brutal conditions. CPJ described this environment using the words of a released Palestinian detainee as a “graveyard for the living.”

According to the CPJ prison census, many journalists have had to endure these harsh conditions for extended periods. A profile of imprisoned journalists showed that more than one-third of the 330 detained journalists have been imprisoned for over five years.

Among them, nearly half have still not received any formal sentence, and 26 percent have spent five years or more in prison without a verdict. Such detentions violate international law, which guarantees the right to a fair trial without unreasonable delay.

According to the prison census, China ranked first globally, with 50 journalists imprisoned through December 2025. Myanmar and Israel ranked second and third respectively.

Myanmar had 30 imprisoned journalists, while Israel had 29 journalists in detention.

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) told Alap that Bangladesh ranks highest in the Asia-Pacific region in terms of imprisoning journalists.

Kunal Majumder, coordinator of CPJ’s Asia-Pacific program, told Alap that Bangladesh is among the leading countries for jailing journalists. According to CPJ’s prison census, Bangladesh ranks 14th globally.

Kunal Majumder told Alap that the arrest of four Bangladeshi journalists is seriously affecting media freedom and justice. Trials have not begun, charge sheets have not been submitted, and they have been detained for 600 days without bail. This situation effectively creates concern that they are being punished before conviction.

CPJ believes the nature of the allegations is extremely concerning. Alongside hundreds of other individuals, journalists have also been accused in murder cases. In most instances, specific evidence remains unclear.