Bangladesh’s press freedom is under severe assault under Muhammad Yunus’s unelected, military-backed regime post-2024 Islamist uprising, with over 350 journalists harassed, arrested on fabricated charges, and beaten. While media faces Taliban-like repression, Islamist allies like Jamaat-e-Islami and “Jamaat Chormonai” thrive unchecked, vowing Sharia rule. Global rights groups warn of democratic erosion and regional extremism risks.
Highlights
- Since Yunus’s takeover, 354 journalists harassed, 74 violence incidents, 113 criminal charges, and 167 credentials revoked; RRAG reports 294 attacks; government dismisses findings as misleading.
- Journalist Monjurul Alam Panna arrested on 28 August 2025, during a disrupted event; paraded in court like a criminal, choked by police; IFJ condemns fabricated charges under Anti-Terrorism Act.
- Beh Lih Yi of CPJ decries baseless detentions, vandalism, and chilling effect on media; legal experts call charges politically motivated.
- Ansar al-Islam justifies killings of secular bloggers; Islami Andolan Bangladesh (“Jamaat Chormonai”) vows Taliban-model governance; Jamaat-e-Islami, a Yunus ally, pushes Islamist agenda amid government impunity.
- Joint statement from Amnesty, HRW, CPJ, etc., alarms at arrests and harassment of expression; ISHR notes surge in attacks since February 2025; Bangladesh ranks high-risk for journalists in South Asia.
- Media as democracy’s fourth pillar dismantled under Yunus’s rule; elections promised for February 2026 but Islamist obstruction feared; risks Taliban-style authoritarianism, regional instability, and broader democratic backsliding.
- Yunus’s Nobel irony exposed; global community urged to advocate accountability, protect expression, and support media to avert irreversible repression and extremism.
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Bangladesh faces a growing crisis of press freedom under the unelected, military-backed government of Muhammad Yunus, who assumed power following the Islamist-backed July Uprising of 2024. Since then, Bangladesh has witnessed an unprecedented assault on press freedom. Journalists are being charged under bogus murder cases, dragged into court under the draconian Anti-Terrorism Act, beaten in custody, and silenced through fear. What was once a vibrant, if imperfect, media landscape is now being suffocated under state-patronised repression that increasingly resembles Taliban-style authoritarianism.
Systematic Constraints on Press Freedom
According to the International Journalists’ Network (IJN) and the Reporters Rights Advocacy Group (RRAG), since Yunus’s takeover, over 354 journalists have faced harassment, 74 incidents of violence have been recorded, 113 criminal charges filed, and press credentials revoked for 167 media professionals. The RRAG further reports 294 cases of attacks and harassment against journalists since the change in regime.
Unsurprisingly, the Press Wing of the Yunus government dismissed these findings as “wildly misleading,” a response consistent with its broader pattern of denying allegations of human rights abuses, repression of minority groups, and systematic suppression of dissenting voices.
Moreover, Beh Lih Yi, Asia program coordinator at the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has condemned the tactics of the Yunus government, stating: “We are disturbed by the apparently baseless detentions and criminal cases against journalists, and incidents of media groups’ offices being targeted and vandalised. These assaults on press freedom must end, as they create a chilling effect on the media.”
A notable case is the arrest of journalist Monjurul Alam Panna on August 28, 2025. Panna was arrested from the Dhaka Reporters Unity auditorium while attending a discussion titled ”Our Great Liberation War and the Constitution of Bangladesh”. The program, organised by Mancha 71, was violently disrupted by a group of protestors who had issued threats online beforehand.
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) condemned the arrest, highlighting that he and 15 others were detained under fabricated charges. During his court appearance the next day, Panna was paraded in a bulletproof vest and helmet, as if he were a dangerous criminal. On September 4, images went viral showing police officers choking him in court - an act of blatant brutality that underscored the Yunus regime’s confidence in its impunity.
Legal experts, rights activists, and journalists across Bangladesh have condemned the charges as politically motivated. Yet Panna remains behind bars in Keraniganj Central Jail, symbolising the grim reality of Yunus’s Bangladesh.
Parallel Rise of Islamist Extremism
What makes this repression even more alarming is the hypocrisy of the government. While independent journalists face systemic repression, Islamists operate with disturbing freedom. For instance, Ansar al-Islam, which has been dubbed as the Bangladeshi branch of Al-Qaeda, openly justifies the killings of secular writers and bloggers by branding them as “enemies of Islam”. Instead of confronting these religious radicals, the Yunus administration has been criticised for allowing extremist ideologies to spread unchecked.
In July 2025, Islami Andolan Bangladesh, widely known in media as ”Jamaat Chormonai” (because Islami Andolan chief Syed Rezaul Karim is known as Chormonai Pir) vowed to model Bangladesh after Taliban-ruled Afghanistan. Jamaat-e-Islami, which is one of Yunus’s key allies, is pushing for similar Islamist goals while ensuring the regime remains in power indefinitely. This dangerous convergence of state repression and Islamist radicalism threatens to transform Bangladesh into a regional epicentre of extremism.
Global concern grows
Earlier in 2025, a coalition of major human rights organisations which included Amnesty International, ARTICLE 19, Human Rights Watch, PEN America, and the Committee to Protect Journalists, issued a joint statement warning of the deteriorating situation in Bangladesh. The statement noted with “alarm the number of arrests and incidents of harassment and violence against individuals and human rights defenders exercising their right to freedom of expression in Bangladesh.” It further impressed on the Yunus government “to guarantee the right to freedom of expression, including protecting people from attacks by non-state actors”.
Similarly, the International Society for Human Rights underlined the surge in violent attacks against journalists since February 2025, with reports of journalists being beaten by both police and political activists. Bangladesh now ranks among the most dangerous countries for media practitioners in South Asia.
Implications for Democracy
The press is universally recognised as the fourth pillar of democracy. Yet under Yunus’s unelected rule, Bangladesh’s media is being systematically dismantled. Ironically, Muhammad Yunus - a Nobel Peace Prize laureate - has revealed himself to be “un-noble” in practice, overseeing a regime that weaponises the judiciary and law enforcement to silence dissent.
While the Yunus administration has assured that elections will happen in February 2026, there are concerns that Islamist allies will obstruct genuine democratic processes, steering the country toward a model of authoritarian governance. This is not simply a dystopian fancy, but this kind of reality is fast becoming a reality as political landscape shapes in Bangladesh. Any failure to address these developments risks broader consequences beyond borders, as unchecked forms of repression and the active participation of extreme actors will affect regional peace, democratic governance, and collective forms of action. In addition, if the current trajectory continues, journalists will not be the only victims but the democracy itself will perish in silence.
Afterthought
The persecution of journalists in Bangladesh is not only a domestic issue or systemic as journalists and human rights advocate continue to expose, but it is also connected to the global struggles over democratic ideas, human rights and international peace. As situation unfolds, the international community cannot afford to watch silently and undermine decades of decades of efforts to build a democratic framework for the country. Today, it may be journalists like Monjurul Alam Panna who are in jail for allegedly speaking truth to power but tomorrow, it will be whole Bangladesh that will pay the costs of indifference of the international community.
The current rulers of Bangladesh must be reminded that the protection of journalistic freedom is central to democratic governance. To prevent a further slide into Afghan Taliban style authoritarianism, the global community should advocate for accountability, uphold freedom of expression, and support independent media, before repression becomes irreversible. Such an advocacy has to be loud, clear and without any hesitation.
Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury is an award-winning journalist, writer, and Editor of the newspaper Blitz. He specialises in counterterrorism and regional geopolitics. Follow him on X: @Salah_Shoaib. The views expressed are the author’s own.
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