JMBF calls upon the authorities to immediately end any politically motivated use of criminal, financial or anti-corruption proceedings against journalists and to ensure that all investigations are independent, evidence-based, non-discriminatory and fully compliant with due process, equality before the law and the presumption of innocence.
According to media reports, on 23 August 2026, the ACC issued separate notices to former Ekattor Television Head of News Shakil Ahmed and his wife, former Special Correspondent Farzana Rupa, requiring them to submit asset statements within 21 working days over allegations that they had accumulated wealth beyond their known sources of income.
The notices were reportedly issued under Section 26(1) of the Anti-Corruption Commission Act, 2004, requiring the disclosure of movable and immovable assets, liabilities, sources of income and information concerning the acquisition of those assets. Failure to comply within the stipulated period, or the submission of false or inaccurate information, may result in legal action under Section 26(2).
The latest action is particularly alarming given the broader legal circumstances surrounding the two journalists. Shakil Ahmed and Farzana Rupa were arrested on 21 August 2024. Farzana Rupa has subsequently faced additional serious criminal proceedings, including recent moves to implicate her, alongside journalists Shyamal Dutta and Mozammel Haque Babu, in a crimes against humanity case reportedly connected with statements and journalistic activities surrounding the July 2024 uprising.
The proceedings involving journalist Munni Saha and her husband, Md. Kabir Hossain, further deepen JMBF’s concerns. According to media reports, on 14 August 2025, the ACC ordered them to submit wealth statements under Section 26(1) following an inquiry into allegations that they possessed assets disproportionate to their known sources of income.
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JMBF stresses that Munni Saha, Shakil Ahmed and Farzana Rupa remain entitled to the presumption of innocence unless and until criminal responsibility is established through a fair process before a competent, independent and impartial court.
JMBF unequivocally recognises that journalists are not above the law. Where credible evidence exists of corruption, unlawful enrichment, money laundering or any other offence, the competent authorities have a legitimate responsibility to investigate.
However, these ACC proceedings cannot reasonably be viewed in isolation. Against the broader pattern of arrests, detention, multiple criminal cases and other coercive legal measures directed at journalists since the political transition of August 2024, JMBF considers these latest actions to bear serious hallmarks of politically motivated retaliation and selective enforcement.
The repeated use of criminal justice and regulatory mechanisms against journalists perceived to have been associated with, sympathetic to, or professionally active under the previous political administration raises serious concerns that legal institutions may be used not merely to pursue legitimate accountability, but also to punish individuals for their journalism, opinions, editorial roles or perceived political affiliations.
JMBF strongly condemns any attempt to weaponise anti-corruption law as an instrument of political retaliation. The legitimacy of anti-corruption proceedings depends upon independence, equal application of the law, credible evidence, procedural fairness and freedom from political interference. Selective enforcement of an otherwise legitimate law can itself become an instrument of persecution.
The cumulative pattern and timing of successive criminal and financial proceedings against journalists already facing detention or serious criminal charges give rise to serious concerns that state institutions are being used to exert sustained pressure on particular media professionals.
JMBF emphasises that an ACC notice is an investigative measure; it is not proof of corruption. Likewise, the freezing of bank accounts or assets during an investigation does not constitute a judicial determination that those assets were unlawfully acquired.
If the ACC possesses credible evidence of corruption or unlawful enrichment, that evidence must be independently investigated and tested before a competent and impartial court. What cannot be accepted is the selective use of state institutions against journalists because of their reporting, editorial history, professional associations, opinions or perceived political affiliations.
Those under investigation must have access to legal representation, an adequate opportunity to respond and present evidence, and effective judicial review. Any interference with property or financial interests must be lawful, necessary, proportionate and subject to meaningful judicial oversight.
JMBF has repeatedly raised concerns over the persecution, harassment, arrest and prosecution of journalists, as well as broader threats to press freedom in Bangladesh. The continuation of such practices risks creating a climate in which journalists fear that their reporting, commentary or editorial decisions may expose them to successive criminal, financial and administrative proceedings.
Bangladesh does not have to choose between combating corruption and protecting press freedom. Genuine anti-corruption enforcement and press freedom are compatible. What is incompatible with democracy and the rule of law is selective justice—where accountability is aggressively pursued against perceived opponents while comparable standards are not applied consistently and impartially to everyone.
Bangladesh’s constitutional protections for freedom of thought, expression and the press, together with its obligations under Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), require the State to ensure that legal powers are not selectively deployed to suppress legitimate journalism.
Advocate Shahanur Islam, Founder and President of JMBF, said:
“What we are witnessing is deeply alarming. These proceedings cannot be viewed in isolation from the continuing pattern of arrests, prosecutions and legal harassment targeting journalists in Bangladesh. JMBF considers successive criminal and financial proceedings against journalists to bear the hallmarks of politically motivated retaliation and selective enforcement. The present BNP-led government appears to be continuing a disturbing practice seen under the preceding interim administration: using the machinery of law against journalists because of their journalism, opinions, editorial roles or perceived political affiliations. Anti-corruption law must never become a weapon for silencing the press or settling political scores. Bangladesh needs the rule of law, not the selective application of the law.”
JMBF Demands:
JMBF strongly calls upon the Anti-Corruption Commission, the Government of Bangladesh and relevant judicial authorities to immediately end the politically motivated, discriminatory or selective use of criminal and anti-corruption proceedings against journalists.
The authorities must demonstrate that investigations involving Shakil Ahmed, Farzana Rupa, Munni Saha and other journalists are supported by credible and independently verifiable evidence and are entirely free from political interference. They must guarantee the presumption of innocence, due process, access to legal representation, privacy, equality before the law and effective judicial review.
Journalism is not a crime. Political disagreement is not corruption. Editorial affiliation is not evidence of criminality. State institutions must never become instruments for punishing journalists whom those in power regard as politically inconvenient.
Bangladesh must choose the rule of law over selective justice; evidence over political suspicion; due process over persecution; and press freedom over intimidation.
In solidarity,
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