162 journos tortured, harassed across country in 3 months

The findings, detailed in an MID press release, highlight that press freedom violations reached their peak in August.

According to MID’s statistics, July saw 50 journalists targeted across 39 incidents. Violent incidents surged by 12.8 percent in August, recording 44 incidents involving 67 affected journalists.

In September, the figures dropped to 45 journalists targeted across 29 incidents—marking a 34.1 percent decline in overall incidents compared to August.

Physical violence and death threats were identified as the primary tools used to intimidate journalists. Death threats accounted for 48.7 percent of reported incidents in July, whereas physical attacks surged to 63.6 percent of all cases in August.

In September, physical assaults and threats were equally distributed at 37.9 percent each. The three-month period also saw shootings, office and residential raids, legal suits, and abductions targeting media personnel.

Print journalists operating at the field level bore the brunt of the violence. Out of the 162 affected journalists, 89 represented daily newspapers, 53 were affiliated with television channels, and 20 worked for online news portals. Violence spanned over 30 districts, with the highest concentration of incidents reported in Dhaka, Chittagong, Sirajganj, Barisal, and Sylhet.

MID raised strong concerns over the lack of legal recourse, noting that formal police cases were rarely filed despite general diaries (GD) being lodged in 46.2 percent of cases in July and 54.5 percent in August. In September, no legal action was initiated in at least 41.4 percent of the incidents.

Commenting on the report, MID Executive Director Rashedul Hasan emphasized that attacks on journalists directly undermine public access to information, urging the government to conduct impartial investigations and ensure exemplary punishment for perpetrators.