A total of 327 journalists have been charged with cases including murder and other allegations. Thirty-one journalists have been arrested at different times across the country. The press accreditation cards of 168 journalists have been revoked in four phases. Furthermore, 92 journalists have been expelled or had their memberships suspended from the National Press Club and regional press clubs. Forty-seven journalists are facing harassment in the name of bank account inquiries, and travel bans have been imposed on over a hundred journalists. Many have had their bank accounts frozen. Since July–August, eight journalists have been murdered.
These are the facts we know. But how many have faced or are continuing to face social and familial harassment remains impossible to measure. As mentioned in a previous article, during the Awami League era, only a handful of journalists enjoyed government favor. But after August 5, it appears almost everyone was labeled a "pro-AL agent" and removed from their posts. This raises the question: who is replacing these terminated journalists?
To help the reader understand the scale and impact of this purge, it’s worth naming a few of those who were dismissed. Has Bangladesh produced journalists who can replace them?
2. Experienced and skilled editors have been ousted from multiple media outlets. While resignations or terminations are not uncommon in journalism, what occurred after August 5 is far from normal—it was systematic and politically motivated. Veterans in editorial and management roles have been replaced by unqualified, inexperienced, and in some cases dishonest individuals, drastically degrading the quality of journalism in Bangladesh.
Notable names include:
Print media: Saiful Alam (Jugantor), Alamgir Hossain (Samakal), Abul Kalam Azad (BSS), Enamul Hoque Chowdhury (Daily Sun), Mustafiz Shafi (Protidiner Bangladesh), Kamalesh Roy (Samayer Alo), Mustafa Mamun (Desh Rupantor), Arun Kumar Dey (Jaijaidin)
TV media: Ahmed Zobayer (Somoy TV), Zayadul Ahsan Pintu, Pranab Saha, Noim Tarik (DBC), Shakil Ahmed, Farzana Rupa, Bayezid Milky (Ekattor), Ashish Saikat (Independent TV), Rahul Raha (News24), Prabash Amin (ATN News), J I Mamun (ATN Bangla), Ashok Chowdhury, Saiful Islam, Sanchita Sharma (Boishakhi TV), Manash Ghosh, Belal Hossain (Asian TV), Rashed Chowdhury (Ekushey TV), Nazrul Kabir (Bangla TV), Deep Azad (Nagarik TV), Munni Saha, Sukanta Gupta Alok (Ek Takar Khobor), Jewel Mazhar (Banglanews24), Rahman Mustafiz (Sarabangla).
These individuals—many of whom contributed significantly to the rise of Bangladesh’s media landscape—have been terminated, sued, or otherwise harassed. Their absence marks a tragic loss for free and independent journalism.
Surprisingly, certain outlets like Prothom Alo, The Daily Star, New Age, Dhaka Tribune, Jamuna TV, Bangla Vision, Ekhon TV, Channel i, and NTV appear untouched. Is this due to their professionalism, or have they simply pleased everyone in power? The debate continues, yet they seem to remain untouchable. Why?
3. Journalism is considered the "fifth pillar" of the state—built by skilled, ethical, and experienced journalists. But after August 5, the media's voice has been silenced, hands tied, and pens confiscated. Many who could have played a vital role in strengthening democracy have been muzzled.
Names worth mentioning include: Farid Hossain (former AP Bureau Chief), Mozammel Hossain Monju (former editor of Samakal and Sokal er Khobor), Monjurul Ahsan Bulbul (senior journalist), Syed Ishtiaq Reza (Dhaka Journal), J I Mamun (ATN Bangla), Zayadul Ahsan Pintu and Pranab Saha (DBC). Their talk show appearances bear testimony to their integrity. They criticized both BNP and AL, always standing for the Liberation War, secularism, and truth.
Today, they are banned—unable to write, speak, or work. Many are facing false murder charges, frozen bank accounts, and social harassment.
Whether they agree or not, I firmly believe that if Dr. Muhammad Yunus’s government had committed to progress, democracy, the legacy of the Liberation War and Bangabandhu, good governance, and justice, these individuals could have constructively contributed to the nation. But Yunus has chosen the path of darkness. The consequences are now visible.
So who fills the vacuum in talk shows now? Unqualified, untrained political operatives with no journalistic credibility. Aside from Mahbub Kamal and Masud Kamal, is there anyone left worth watching or listening to?
And yet, the Yunus-led regime boasts of a "flood of freedom of expression."
4. A generation of highly promising journalists has been driven toward metaphorical death—journalists who could have uplifted media standards and public perception. Take Noim Tarik (Chief News Editor, DBC), whose books are used in university curricula and who turned down a bank job to become a journalist. Or Rashed Chowdhury (Chief News Editor, ETV), widely respected at home and abroad for his reporting in both Bangla and English. They too have been banished.
Rahman Mustafiz (Sarabangla, Gazi TV), Manash Ghosh (Asian TV), Nazrul Kabir (Bangla TV)—all once dreamers of free speech, liberal thought, and open information—have now been silenced.
Talented young TV journalists have been terminated and replaced with semi-literate party workers, pushing audiences away from mainstream media toward YouTube.
Final Thought: Why hasn’t Prothom Alo’s Anisul Hoque written a single satirical column in the past nine months? Has anyone dared ask? Will such questions be tolerated in Yunus's Bangladesh?
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