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Several journalists in Moulvibazar, falsely implicated in politically motivated cases, have been forced into hiding or even exile over the past ten months. These fabricated charges, filed in the wake of the July–August 2024 anti-discrimination movement, have plunged the victims and their families into immense hardship.
Parents have fallen seriously ill, families are under financial and emotional strain, and the accused are living in constant fear.
On December 31, 2024, the Moulvibazar Press Club submitted a formal appeal to the Superintendent of Police (SP), urging a fair investigation and justice for the affected journalists.
Earlier, on October 7, 2024, Hasanat Kamal, district correspondent for BTV, submitted a similar plea to the Deputy Commissioner. However, neither appeal has yielded any meaningful response.
According to the SP’s office, a total of 17 cases related to the anti-discrimination movement were filed in Moulvibazar district, naming 2,600 individuals. Of these, 13 cases were filed in the district town alone, implicating 2,148 people. Victims and civil society leaders claim that many of those named are innocent and have been wrongfully targeted.
Among the falsely accused in Moulvibazar town are five professional journalists:
• Hasanat Kamal, district correspondent for BTV, English daily New Age, and editor of eyenews.news
• Panna Dutta, then district correspondent for DBC News and former General Secretary of Moulvibazar Press Club
• Sarwar Ahmad, current President of the Press Club and senior journalist
• Ripon Dey, district correspondent for The Business Standard
• S.I. Sarkar Joblu, district correspondent for Dainik Khoborpotro and current Vice-President of the Press Club
In addition, poet and writer Syed Mosahid Ahmad Chunnu, General Secretary of the Moulvibazar BNSB Eye Hospital, has also been falsely accused.
These individuals, widely known in the community for their professionalism and integrity, assert that the allegations are baseless, politically motivated, and designed solely to harass.
In a similar incident from 2018, ten journalists were accused in a case filed at Sreemangal Police Station. As a result, RTV’s district correspondent Chowdhury Bhaskar Hom was jailed for over two months without trial. In other upazilas such as Juri, more journalists faced similar fates. Belal Hossain, Juri correspondent for Daily Samakal, was imprisoned for 62 days and has since fled to Saudi Arabia for his safety.
Hasanat Kamal, now living in exile, shared his ordeal: “A fabricated criminal case was filed against me. I received public threats, my home was attacked, and my news office was shut down. I lost my job at Bangladesh Television as part of a politically motivated purge. I never imagined I would have to leave my country. I tried everything to stay. But after nine months of hiding, constantly on the move and fearing for my life, I had no choice but to leave.”
His mother, Nurunnahar, added with tears, “On August 3, 2024, my son had a high fever and didn’t leave the house for a week. Yet he was named in a case related to protests on August 4. He’s been away for over nine months. His father has had three strokes from the stress and is now on his deathbed. My heart is broken.”
Poet Syed Mosahid Ahmad Chunnu echoed the injustice: “On August 4, I was on duty at the hospital. Yet I have been accused of looting and arson—this is both absurd and tragic.”
Senior journalist Abdul Hamid Mahbub, former President of the Moulvibazar Press Club, said: “I’ve known Hasanat Kamal and Mosahid Chunnu for years. They are gentle and respectable people. It’s laughable to think they looted shops or burned bicycles. These charges are ridiculous.”
Sarwar Ahmad, current Press Club President, noted that no protest-related incidents even occurred in Moulvibazar on August 3, yet a case was filed on that date accusing 11 journalists and hundreds of others.
Nurul Islam Sheful, General Secretary of the Press Club, added, “Due to the political environment, a certain group is systematically harassing journalists. Respected professionals like Panna Dutta, Hasanat Kamal, and others have been dragged into false cases. These people are not political operatives; they’re journalists doing their jobs.”
He continued, “Journalists report on events—they don’t instigate them. These charges are driven by malice, and the atmosphere has become intolerable. Press freedom is under serious threat. We appealed to the authorities with evidence, but nothing has changed.”
In response, Superintendent of Police M.K.H. Jahangir Hossain said, “Legal measures will be taken. Requests alone cannot change anything—law will take its own course.”
Despite the SP’s comment, critics argue that the legal system is being manipulated to target dissenting voices and suppress freedom of expression. The situation in Moulvibazar is being closely watched by human rights observers and media watchdogs across the country.
