Withdraw 'false' cases against journalists for press freedom

The Editors' Council has urged the newly-elected government to withdraw 'false and harassment' cases filed against journalists to ensure press freedom.

Through a media statement on Wednesday, the Council said many false murder cases as well as a number of harassment cases have been filed against journalists across the country since 5 August 2024.

As a result of these cases, many journalists are still in jail and many are being compelled to appear in court regularly, said the statement, signed by Editors' Council President Nurul Kabir and General Secretary Dewan Hanif Mahmud.

"The lawsuits have severely disrupted the usual professional activities of the journalists and undermined the independent atmosphere of the media."

However, if there are specific and evidence-based allegations against any journalist, those must certainly be addressed under the existing laws and through transparent judicial process.

The Editors' Council believes that proper investigation of allegations and due legal process are necessary for the sake of ensuring justice, but ill-motivated cases for harassment are not acceptable under any circumstances.

"The interim government also assured us that the cases would be reviewed and steps would be taken to withdraw such cases. But regrettably, no visible progress was observed in this regard," reads the statement.

The Editors' Council has strongly called upon the newly-elected government to give the highest priority to this issue and take immediate initiatives to withdraw the false and harassment cases filed against journalists.

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