Bangladeshi journalist F.M. Masum, a staff correspondent of the daily New Age in Bangladesh, was on Thursday (22 Oct.) taken from his residence by members of the country’s infamous Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) and was then held incommunicado, and brutally tortured, for over ten hours, before being released. Masum, who had injury marks all over […]

The International Press Institute welcomes the enactment on 1 July of Bangladesh’s long-awaited Right to Information Act (2009), and the appointment, under Article 15(1) of the Act, of a three-member Information Commission, as an important step towards acknowledgement of the people’s right to access information.. IPI is concerned, however, that the regime of exceptions to […]

Although Bangladeshi press freedom has improved, concerns remain over pressure from politicians, intelligence services, law enforcement agencies and other groups, and the use of laws such as criminal defamation to punish critical reporting. The political polarization of the media within Bangladesh has not helped this situation. From 27 November to 2 December an International Press […]

A high-level IPI mission will visit Dhaka, Bangladesh, from 28 November to 2 December to meet with government representatives, the political parties running in the elections, as well as with editors, journalists, and representatives of civil society. Elections, currently scheduled for 29 December, could represent the beginning of a new, more democratic era in the […]