Bangladesh journalist charged over story about rising food prices

Bangladesh police on Wednesday charged a reporter from a leading newspaper with producing “false news”, stoking fears about media freedom, after an article about high food prices went viral.

Shamsuzzaman Shams was picked up from his home in the industrial town of Savar just outside Dhaka at about 4am by plainclothes police, according to his newspaper, Prothom Alo.

Rights groups say the Digital Security Act under which Shams was charged has been widely used by the government to muzzle journalists and critics.

The Prothom Alo article was published on Sunday and included quotes from ordinary people talking about their lives on the occasion of Bangladesh’s independence day.

“What is the use of this freedom if we can’t afford rice?” one labourer was quoted as saying.

The cost of food has soared in Bangladesh since the middle of 2022 following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Its currency, the taka, has fallen sharply against the US dollar.

The home minister, Asaduzzaman Khan, confirmed that the reporter was questioned by police for a “false story” published at the weekend.

“A case has been filed against him,” the minister said, adding that Shams would be released from custody but could be arrested again over the charges.

The reporter was charged with “smearing the image of the government with false news” and for raising questions about the achievements of Bangladesh, under the Digital Security Act, according to a copy of the case file obtained by Agence France-Presse.

According to a local thinktank, nearly 3,000 people have been charged under the Digital Security Act since it was enacted in 2018, including about 280 journalists.

This has stoked concerns that under prime minister Sheikh Hasina, in power since 2009, the south Asian nation of 170 million people is becoming increasingly authoritarian.

Reporters Without Borders ranked Bangladesh 162 of 180 countries in its 2022 World Press Freedom Index. It is ranked below Russia (155) and Afghanistan (156).

In recent months, Bangladesh’s dwindling number of independent media and journalists have come under increasing attack by the government and Hasina’s ruling party.

The authorities shut down the lone opposition mouthpiece in February, saying it violated the country’s press laws.

At least 10 journalists were beaten up by police while covering a disputed election of supreme court lawyers in Dhaka.