Media under EPR

March 12, Wednesday

(bdnews24.com is Bangladesh’s first online newspaper. REPUBLISHED WITH PERMISSION)

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US report points to media restrictions in Bangladesh

Dhaka, March 12 (bdnews24.com)—Emergency rule has allowed security and intelligence agencies to compel the media to file stories supporting the government, the US State Department has said in a statement.

The security and intelligence agencies put restrictions on newspaper content, said the US State Department's human rights report for 2007, released Tuesday in Washington.

The agencies monitored media houses and cautioned journalists about material deemed "offensive to the government or military", the report said.

The report said journalists and editors were summoned by joint forces for questioning.

On freedom of speech, the report said people could not criticise the government publicly without fear of reprisal.

"The constitution provides for freedom of speech and press; however, the government used the EPR to curtail these rights (freedom of speech and press)," said the report.

"Individuals were not able to criticise the government publicly without fear of reprisal," it said.

Newspaper ownership and content were often subjected to direct restriction and journalists reported being cautioned frequently by the security agencies against criticising the government or the military, the report said.

The report incorporated individual cases of harassment and torture of journalists by the security forces.

The report said "overt attacks" on journalists continued to be problem, but the number was fewer than in 2006. No journalists were killed in the attacks, it said.

The US State Department, quoting a local human-rights organisation, said at least 35 journalists were injured, 13 arrested, 35 assaulted and 83 threatened.