Media freedom is an integral part of democracy; one cannot exist without the other. Today, media is regarded as the fourth pillar of state all over the world. As society's watchdog, it is duty bound to inform and educate the public about government policies and actions, corruption scandals and other forms of misconduct by individuals or groups without fear of persecution. Sadly, in Bangladesh the print and electronic media are under attack from an elected government led by the Awami League's third-time Prime Minister, Sheikh Hasina Wajed. An independent US-based organisation, Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), has published a report chronicling harrowing details of how journalists are facing a diverse range of threats from out-of-control police, enforced disappearances, and religious extremists' murderous assaults on a once thriving community of social media bloggers.
The biggest threat comes from the government, which is intolerant of any critical opinion. Rough repressive measures, including criminal defamation laws under Section 57 of Information and Communication Act, are employed to suppress dissent. According to the CPJ report, journalists who asked not to be named for fear of retaliation complained of enduring repeated intimidating "advisory" phone calls from the police, government and army intelligence. Any unfavourable coverage of an event, as a TV reporter experienced to his abiding trepidation, can invite brutal reprisals. Arrested for reporting on police firing teargas and rubber bullets into a garment workers demonstration, he was taken away hooded and hand-cuffed to be beaten for days, thrown into a ditch, retrieved, beaten some more, and when asked for water was forced to drink urine. He told CPJ he was made to stand for two days as police tried to obtain a confession that he had conspired with the garment workers, and finally brought before a judge to face six criminal charges. Although the courts generally comply with government wishes, in this case the judge granted him bail after 45 days, and later threw out all the charges against him except for the one filed under the Information and Communication Act. The victim says he is still constantly threatened by the police, and worries "anytime, they can pick me up and kill me."
In this environment, major newspapers and television channels feel compelled to toe official line to avoid punitive action. A leading opposition newspaper "Daily Sun" is under pressure for alleged involvement in a conspiracy to malign the government. Prominent columnists have stopped writing on issues that do not sit well with Sheikh Hasina's sensitivities. A handy weapon used against critics is registration of cases against them for being Pakistani collaborators during the events that led to the secession of East Pakistan. The main opposition party BNP leader, Khalida Zia, twice elected as prime minister, has been handed a jail term on a corruption allegation. It is now widely argued that Awami League, which led the secessionist movement promising an inclusive, liberal democracy, has turned Bangladesh into a police state.