US Bureau

Journalists and community leaders gathered in New York on Saturday to demand the immediate and unconditional release of veteran journalist leader Iqbal Sobhan Chowdhury and all other incarcerated journalists in Bangladesh, as well as the withdrawal of all cases filed against them.

Organised under the banner of the "Probashi Journalist Forum" (Expatriates' Journalists Forum)  the human chain programme was held on Saturday afternoon to protest what speakers described as undeclared repression against the media in Bangladesh.

Chaired by former National Press Club president Farida Yasmin and moderated by journalist Pinaki Talukdar, the demonstration drew solidarity from community leaders and rights activists.

Among those who expressed solidarity with the journalists' movement were Queens Democratic Party District Leader Dr Dilip Nath, Advocate Miah Zakir on behalf of 'Kokkhopath-71', freedom fighter Dr Masudul Hasan, and community organisers Mujahid Ansari, Solaiman Ali, Advocate Sonia Sultana, Sheikh Abid Hossain, Palash Nandi, and Minhaj Sammu.

Addressing the gathering, former secretary general of the Bangladesh Federal Union of Journalists (BFUJ) and former  Press Minister of Bangladesh High Commission in New Delhi  Mahmood, senior journalist Shitangshu Guha, former Press Minister at the Bangladesh Embassy in Washington Sazzad Hossain Sabuj, and America-Bangladesh Press Club President freedom fighter Lablu Ansar voiced grave concerns over the current media landscape.

Other journalists who spoke at the rally included Shahidul Huq Jibon, Sumi Khan, Shamima Doula, Abdul Hamid, and Ajit Bhowmik.

Speakers alleged that journalists in Bangladesh are currently facing threats of being implicated in murder cases, severely hindering honest and objective reporting. They further claimed that non-partisan reporting has been virtually stifled, leading to a surge in unchecked injustice across the country.

The protesters highlighted that individuals expressing dissenting views are increasingly falling victim to mob violence. Pointing to the recent arrest of Iqbal Sobhan Chowdhury—editor of The Daily Observer, chairman of DBC News, and former information advisor to the ex-prime minister—they termed his arrest under a murder case unprecedented and politically motivated.

In her presidential address, Farida Yasmin proposed organising an international seminar involving Bangladeshi journalists working abroad to highlight the ongoing repression against the press in Bangladesh.

The recent arrest of senior journalist leader Iqbal Sobhan Chowdhury has drawn renewed attention to the media situation in Bangladesh. 

Earlier, various international human rights organisations expressed deep concern over false cases, arrests, and harassment faced by journalists from the interim administration led by Dr Muhammad Yunus.