Bangladesh Interim Government Bans All Media From Publishing Hasina’s Statements
Interim govt bans reporting “fugitive” ex-PM’s statements after death sentence.
Bangladesh’s interim government on Monday issued a sweeping gag order directing all print, electronic and online media outlets to immediately stop publishing or broadcasting any statement issued by deposed prime minister Sheikh Hasina, officially labelling her a “convicted and fugitive” whose words now pose a direct threat to national security and public order.
The stern warning was delivered through an official press release by the National Cyber Security Agency (NCSA), which accused certain media houses of repeatedly airing Hasina’s remarks despite her newly imposed death sentence, claiming such content could contain coded directives capable of triggering widespread violence, ethnic hatred, or coordinated criminal activities across the country.
Citing multiple clauses of the controversial Cyber Security Ordinance, the agency reminded editors and publishers that authorities now possess explicit legal powers to block, remove, or order the deletion of any content deemed to undermine national integrity, incite religious discord, or provoke public disorder, with violations punishable by up to two years imprisonment and fines of Tk 10 lakh.
Also Read: Why Was Bangladesh’s Ex-Home Minister Asaduzzaman Kamal Sentenced to Death Alongside Sheikh Hasina?
While paying lip service to freedom of the press, the NCSA urged media organisations to exercise “responsible journalism” by permanently blacklisting statements from any convicted fugitive, particularly Hasina, who was sentenced to death in absentia just hours earlier by the International Crimes Tribunal for crimes against humanity committed during last year’s brutal suppression of student-led protests.
The dramatic media clampdown coincides with Hasina’s continued exile in India since fleeing Dhaka on August 5, 2024, and comes as Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus publicly celebrated the tribunal verdict as proof that “no one is above the law,” even as the former prime minister dismissed the entire proceedings as a farce orchestrated by an unelected regime through a rigged court with zero democratic legitimacy.
