At least 209 journalists fell victim to harassment between January to September of this year rights body Ain O Salish Kendra (ASK) said in a recent report.
The report also disclosed that 35 journalists were harassed by law enforcing agencies of them 23 received death threats over phones during the period. It also disclosed that 19 journalists were attacked and harassed by the ruling political parties.
At least 142 journalists were harassed in 2019 while some 207 journalists faced harassment in 2018, the ASK’s data showed.
“Journalists are considered as human rights defenders. We are concerned about their harassments and threats,” said Nina Goswami, Senior Deputy Director of ASK to The Business Post on Saturday. “We also demand justice for them as well,” she added.
Bangladesh has been placed 151 out of 180 countries in World Press Freedom Index 2020 which was released by Reporters without Borders (RSF) report.
In South Asia, position of Bangladesh has been the worst. Even it’s worse than war-ravaged Afghanistan, which has been placed at 122, Pakistan (145), India (142), Sri Lanka (127), Nepal (112), Bhutan (67), and Maldives (79).
Rank of Bangladesh has been low in the index for the past five years. In 2019, Bangladesh ranked 150 in 2018 it was 146 and in 2016 it was 144.
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