Govts worldwide must stop imprisoning journalists

It is disconcerting to note that for the sixth year running, the number of journalists imprisoned worldwide has hit a record high, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ). It illustrates an alarming trend of governments around the world cracking down on the free flow of information and on professionals whose duty is to keep the public informed. Without an informed public, there can be no democracy—this has been widely acknowledged by all reformers who helped shape modern democracies. That the governments around the world are upholding this idea less and less illustrates a dangerous turn towards authoritarianism.

According to a report published in this daily on December 10, many Asian countries are leading the way when it comes to imprisoning journalists. Among them are countries like China, Myanmar and Vietnam. Press freedom in Bangladesh has also taken a turn for the worse over the years. Bangladesh, which has always performed poorly in the World Press Freedom Index, slipped another notch to be ranked 152 out of 180 countries in this year's ranking.

Since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, in particular, we have seen governments around the world crack down on journalism in the name of protecting people from misinformation. However, as we have repeatedly seen around the globe, the production and distribution of verified information by independent journalists have always been the best antidote to disinformation.

That is why, as recently as October this year, editors of various newspapers in Bangladesh raised concern that free press in Bangladesh was under assault from multiple directions. The lack of institutional protection for journalists, along with the government's refusal to respect the constitutional rights of journalists—and, indeed, all individuals when it comes to free expression—as well as the various international agreements that it is a signatory to, is gravely concerning.

Imprisoning journalists for reporting the news is the hallmark of an authoritarian regime. Yet, we have seen the Digital Security Act (DSA) being used to repeatedly harass journalists in particular. This hostility towards free expression not only threatens independent journalism, but our democracy itself. Hence, we call on our government to reassess many of the laws and mechanisms it has put in place that are stifling freedom of speech and freedom of the press. And on the global front, countries have to start valuing the rights of journalists—and overall of free expression—that their respective constitutions

and various international human rights agreements recognise as being eternal, and key to the survival and progress of our civilisation.