Amnesty Calls for Withdrawal of Allegations Against Rupa and Babu over Journalism Work

Staff Reporter

Amnesty International has called for the immediate withdrawal of the charges brought against Ekattor Television journalist Farzana Rupa and Managing Director Mozammel Haque Babu for their journalistic work.

In a post on social media today, Monday, October 5, the organization said that journalists should not be targeted for their unpopular opinions or their alleged ties to political parties.

Amnesty said freedom of expression includes information that some may find offensive, surprising or uncomfortable. Respect for this right is essential to ensure a healthy public space in a rights-based society.

The organization’s post said that Farzana Rupa was the chief reporter of Ekattor Television and Mozammel Haque was the managing director of the organization.

Amnesty cited various media reports that the charges brought against them on March 7 were related to their coverage of a raid by law enforcement agencies on a Hefazat-e-Islam rally at Dhaka’s Shapla Square in May 2013.

The report said the prosecution alleged that Ekattor Television aired a “misleading” report, which allegedly attempted to divert public attention from the actual death toll by creating the impression that there were no casualties at Shapla Chattar.

However, there has been a long-standing debate about the number of deaths in the Shapla Chattar operation. As a result, there are still differing claims about the coverage of the incident and various reports at the time.

“Journalists should not be targeted for expressing opinions that are unpopular with anyone,” said Smriti Singh, Amnesty’s South Asia director. “Similarly, journalists should not be targeted for their alleged affiliation with a political party.”

The organization said the allegations related to journalism must be immediately withdrawn. It also called for the protection of freedom of expression and media freedom in line with Bangladesh’s international human rights obligations.

Amnesty’s stance comes at a time when Farzana Rupa and Mozammel Haque Babu are facing proceedings before the International Crimes Tribunal in the Shapla Chattar incident.

Earlier, Amnesty, along with five other organizations working on international human rights and media freedom, had also called for them not to be charged with crimes against humanity for their journalism.