A press freedom group has called for the release of journalists Farzana Rupa and Mozammel Babu in Bangladesh. The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) urged authorities to stop targeting journalists through the country’s International Crimes Tribunal (ICT). Rupa and Babu, along with former minister Dipu Moni, were ordered to be arrested in connection with a case related to a 2013 crackdown on the Hefazat-e-Islam rally in Dhaka.
The ICT bench, led by Justice Md Golam Mortuza Mozumder, issued the arrest order, sending the accused to jail. The investigation report is due on June 7. Prosecutors alleged that Rupa’s report on Ekattor TV after the incident used statements from controversial individuals, diverting attention from the crackdown’s killings. Babu, as the channel’s managing director, is accused of overseeing broadcasts to conceal the death toll.
The CPJ highlighted that the editorial decisions made by journalists during a political incident should not be considered crimes against humanity. The organization emphasized that using international criminal law against journalists violates press protections under Bangladesh’s constitution and international human rights conventions. Rupa and Babu have been in pre-trial detention since 2024 for separate murder cases linked to protests that ousted the Awami League government.
