The Bangladesh Editors’ Council called for the government to withdraw cases against journalists under anti-free-press laws on Monday.

Editors’ Council’s president Mahfuz Anam, editor and publisher of Bangladesh newspaper The Daily Star, hosted the discussion in the Daily Star offices. The statement was made after police and government reactions to student protests in Bangladesh triggered by the reinstatement of job quotas, which protesters believed to be biased towards ruling Awami League supporters. Prime Minister Shiekh Hasina resigned on August 5, and reportedly fled to India whilst she applies for asylum in the UK and in Europe. On August 8, Muhammad Yunas, an 84-year-old economist, became the interim leader of Bangladesh.

TV channel offices and newspaper organizations were attacked. At the Editors’ Council meeting, Mahfuz commented on the events, stating that though the “Editors’ Council does not support such incidents … the Editors’ Council believes that unethical and sycophantic journalism should be avoided in favour of professionalism.”

The council expressed that the Bangladesh government had used several laws in the past to undermine journalistic freedom in Bangladesh, especially the Digital Security Act (DSA) and Cyber Security Act (CSA). The Editors’ Council also called for the withdrawal of harassment cases against journalists and to make all activities of the Department of Films and Publications, the government agency dealing with media, transparent and available to the public. Mahfuz and other journalists also urged the development of a recognised Press Council, which could advocate against further obstacles to freedom of the press.

The DSA and CSA appear to increase online security but have been used to target journalists and citizens expressing their opinions online. Many of the provisions of the DSA are non-bailable, meaning defendants are imprisoned before they are tried. UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk has spoken out in previous years on the use of these laws to repress freedom of speech in Bangladesh. In 2023, he said he was “concerned that the Digital Security Act is being used across Bangladesh to arrest, harass and intimidate journalists and human rights defenders, and to muzzle critical voices online…The law itself needs a proper overhaul.” The Committee to Protect Journalists and Amnesty International have both spoken out on the matter in the past.

In an op-ed written in May 2023, Mahfuz discussed how the government had never consulted journalists in the DSA’s creation or amendment. Mahfuz believes that the DSA must be repealed.