CPJ urges BNP government to free 4 journalists held 18 months in Bangladesh
Synopsis
Nearly 600 days after their arrest, four senior Bangladeshi journalists remain behind bars on murder charges — with no charge sheets filed and no credible evidence presented, according to the CPJ. The press freedom body's letter to the BNP government is a direct test of whether Tarique Rahman's administration will honour its own election pledges on press freedom.
Key Takeaways
The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has formally urged Bangladesh's BNP government to release four detained journalists.
Journalists Farzana Rupa , Shakil Ahmed , Mozammel Haq Babu , and Shyamal Dutta have been held for more than 18 months on murder charges.
Nearly 600 days after arrest, police have reportedly filed no charge sheets against any of the four.
Shyamal Dutta suffered a stroke in custody; Mozammel Haq Babu has not received follow-up care after prostate cancer surgery in 2023 .
Farzana Rupa was reportedly held in a death-row "condemnation cell" for two weeks in November 2024 .
The CPJ has urged the Ministry of Law and Ministry of Home Affairs to ensure immediate medical care pending a decision on charges.
The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), a leading international press freedom organisation, has called on Bangladesh's Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) government — led by Tarique Rahman — to withdraw what it described as "politically motivated cases" against four senior journalists detained for more than 18 months on murder charges, and to ensure their immediate release.
In a formal letter addressed to Bangladesh's Minister of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs, Md Asaduzzaman, the CPJ urged the government to honour its election pledge and free journalists Farzana Rupa, Shakil Ahmed, Mozammel Haq Babu, and Shyamal Dutta. The four were arrested during the previous Muhammad Yunus-led interim government and have remained in custody without a charge sheet being filed against any of them.
The Core Allegations
According to the CPJ, the arrests appear to have been carried out in retaliation for the journalists' reporting and their perceived political affiliations. Nearly 600 days after the arrests, the police have reportedly failed to file charge sheets substantiating the murder accusations.
"All four journalists have been held for more than 18 months, accused of murder, for which, based on our documentation, testimony from their families, and review by international counsel, no credible evidence has been presented, and no charge sheet has been served," the CPJ letter stated. "The pattern of these cases appears closely tied to the journalists' reporting and perceived political affiliations — the very kind of practice your government has publicly signalled an intention to move beyond."
Grave Humanitarian Concerns
The CPJ raised serious alarm over the health and safety of the detained journalists, warning that continued imprisonment without adequate medical care poses life-threatening risks.
Farzana Rupa was reportedly held for two weeks in November 2024 in a "condemnation cell" reserved for death-row inmates. Shyamal Dutta suffered a stroke within days of his detention on 16 September 2024, and his family was not immediately informed. He has a documented medical history of cardiac problems and severe sleep apnoea that has not been assessed during his time in custody.
Mozammel Haq Babu, arrested on the same day in September, was diagnosed with prostate cancer and underwent major invasive surgery in late 2023. He has not received the required follow-up care, placing him at serious risk of undetected cancer recurrence, according to the CPJ.
What CPJ Is Demanding
The press freedom body urged the BNP government to drop the charges against all four journalists and allow them to return to their families. Pending that decision, the CPJ expressed hope that the Bangladeshi Ministry of Law, together with the Ministry of Home Affairs, would ensure the detainees receive required medical care without further delay.
Broader Context
The cases come at a sensitive juncture for Bangladesh, as the BNP government — which publicly committed to press freedom reforms during its election campaign — now faces scrutiny over whether it will act on those pledges. The CPJ's intervention marks one of the most direct international challenges yet to the new administration's record on journalist rights. This is the latest in a series of global calls for Bangladesh to align its treatment of the press with democratic norms, and the outcome will be closely watched by regional and international media freedom advocates.
Point of View
And yet these four journalists remain in custody nearly 600 days on, without charge sheets, in deteriorating health. The absence of charge sheets after 18 months is not a procedural delay — it is a structural indictment of how press freedom cases are managed in Bangladesh. If the BNP fails to act, it risks cementing a pattern where each incoming government uses the judiciary as a political instrument against journalists aligned with the previous regime — a cycle that no election pledge, however sincere, has yet broken.
NationPress
1 May 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
Who are the four journalists detained in Bangladesh?
The four journalists are Farzana Rupa, Shakil Ahmed, Mozammel Haq Babu, and Shyamal Dutta. They were arrested during the previous Muhammad Yunus-led interim government and have been held for more than 18 months on murder charges, with no charge sheets filed against them.
Why does the CPJ call these cases politically motivated?
The Committee to Protect Journalists says the arrests appear to be in retaliation for the journalists' reporting and their perceived political affiliations. According to the CPJ, no credible evidence has been presented and no charge sheets have been served despite nearly 600 days of detention.
What are the health concerns for the detained journalists?
Shyamal Dutta suffered a stroke shortly after his detention on 16 September 2024 and has unassessed cardiac and sleep apnoea conditions. Mozammel Haq Babu, who had prostate cancer surgery in late 2023, has not received required follow-up care. Farzana Rupa was held in a death-row cell for two weeks in November 2024.
What is the CPJ asking the Bangladesh government to do?
The CPJ is urging the BNP government to drop all charges against the four journalists and allow them to return to their families. It is also calling on the Ministry of Law and Ministry of Home Affairs to ensure the detainees receive adequate medical care immediately.
How does this relate to the BNP government's election pledges?
The BNP publicly signalled an intention to move beyond politically motivated press freedom cases during its election campaign. The CPJ's letter directly invokes this pledge, framing the release of the four journalists as a test of whether the new government will honour its commitments.
