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Article 19

12/19/2025 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 12/19/2025 02:03

Bangladesh: Attacks on media houses an attack on free expression

ARTICLE 19 strongly condemns the violent attacks on the offices of The Daily Star and Prothom Alo, the assault on New Age Editor and Editors' Council President Nurul Kabir, and the vandalism of the prominent cultural institution Chhayanaut.

The attacks occurred on Thursday, 18 December, in the aftermath of the death of Sharif Osman Hadi, one of the leading figures of the uprising toppled former prime minister Sheikh Hasina in 2024 and the convener of Inqilab Moncho - a socio-political and cultural platform formed in Bangladesh following the July 2024 Revolution.

Prothom Alo, the country's most widely circulated Bangla daily newspaper, and The Daily Star, the leading English-language outlet in Bangladesh, have both faced sustained threats from political, religious and cultural extremist groups in recent times. These latest attacks, unfolding just months before the national elections scheduled for 12 February 2026, expose a deeply troubling escalation of hostility, intimidation, and violence against journalists, media outlets, and cultural practitioners - and highlight the interim government's alarming failure to provide protection.

Multiple verified reports confirm that mobs vandalised and set fire to the Prothom Alo building in Karwan Bazar before turning on the Daily Star office in Farmgate, where staff were trapped inside as the building burned. Firefighters and security personnel were forced to intervene to bring journalists and employees to safety.

The scale of the violence forced both newspapers to suspend their Friday print and online editions - an unprecedented disruption for two of the nation's most influential media institutions. During the same period of unrest, New Age Editor and Editors' Council President Nurul Kabir was harassed, shoved, and verbally abused by protesters near the Daily Star premises, underscoring the growing boldness of those targeting journalists in the absence of adequate state protection.

The attacks extended beyond media institutions. Chhayanaut - one of Bangladesh's most respected cultural organisations, and a symbol of the country's artistic heritage - also came under assault, reflecting a broader surge in violence against cultural spaces, artists, and cultural activists nationwide.

The escalating pattern of aggression reveals an increasingly unsafe environment for those engaged in journalism, cultural expression, and civic discourse.

These incidents do not occur in isolation; they take place within a long-standing culture of impunity in Bangladesh, where threats, surveillance, harassment, digital smear campaigns, and physical attacks against journalists and cultural figures routinely go uninvestigated and unpunished. The state's failure to prosecute perpetrators - including those aligned with political, religious, or ideological groups - has emboldened attackers and normalised the targeting of critical voices. The interim government's inaction and inability to prevent or contain the violence, despite repeated prior warnings, represent a severe dereliction of duty and signal a dangerous erosion of public trust and democratic accountability.

Bangladesh has clear legal obligations under international human rights instruments, including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), which obliges the state to protect the rights to freedom of expression, media freedom, peaceful assembly, and personal security. These obligations are reinforced by Bangladesh's own Constitution, which guarantees freedom of thought, conscience, expression, and cultural life, and mandates the state to safeguard these rights.

The attacks on journalists, media houses, and cultural institutions - and the government's failure to prevent or respond effectively to them - stand in stark violation of these national and international commitments.

ARTICLE 19 calls on the interim government to fulfil its obligations without delay. This includes ensuring immediate and robust protection for all media houses, journalists, cultural institutions, and cultural workers; deploying adequate security to prevent further violence; and taking swift, strict, and transparent legal action against those responsible for arson, vandalism, assault, and intimidation.

Any failure to act decisively will deepen the crisis, further entrench impunity, and jeopardise the integrity of the electoral environment ahead of the 2026 national elections.

ARTICLE 19 stands in solidarity with Bangladesh's media and cultural community and urges urgent, credible measures to restore safety, uphold constitutional rights, and protect the freedom of expression that forms the cornerstone of any democratic society.
Article 19 published this content on December 19, 2025, and is solely responsible for the information contained herein. Distributed via Public Technologies (PUBT), unedited and unaltered, on December 19, 2025 at 08:03 UTC. If you believe the information included in the content is inaccurate or outdated and requires editing or removal, please contact us at [email protected]