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Published : 15 May 2026, 11:58 PM
The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has protested the arrests of journalists Farzana Rupa and Mozammel Babu in a crimes against humanity case over the crackdown on a Hifazat-e-Islam rally at Dhaka’s Shapla Chattar in 2013.
The American non-profit focused on press freedom issued a statement on the arrests on Friday.
“Editorial decisions on covering a contested political incident are not crimes against humanity, and using an international criminal law framework to punish journalists circumvents the basic protections guaranteed to the press under Bangladesh’s own constitution while also violating international human rights conventions,” said CPJ Asia-Pacific Program Coordinator Kunāl Majumder.
“Bangladeshi authorities must stop weaponizing the international criminal tribunal to target journalists and immediately release Farzana Rupa and Mozammel Babu.”
On Thursday, the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) had shown Rupa, former chief reporter and presenter at Ekattor TV, and Babu, the channel’s founder and former editor-in-chief, arrested in the case.
The two journalists were sent back to jail and set Jun 7 for the submission of the investigation report.
The prosecution has alleged that the journalists played a critical role in the Sheikh Hasina administration’s transformation into a fascist regime by legitimising the crackdown through distorted narratives.
The prosecution’s case against Babu and Rupa hinges on their alleged involvement in the "mechanism" behind the violence.
Chief Prosecutor Md Aminul Islam clarified that the arrests were not merely for "misreporting" but for being part of a larger conspiracy to facilitate “fascism”.
"Professional identity -- whether one is a journalist, lawyer, or doctor -- does not grant immunity from prosecution for specific crimes," Islam told reporters.
He alleged that Rupa and Babu used Ekattor TV to brand the Hifazat assembly as "provocative" from the outset and later broadcasted a "distorted version" of the operation to hide the killings.
Islam specifically pointed to Rupa’s "Somikoron" report as evidence that she was part of the "total mechanism" of the state-sponsored violence.
"Those who practice 'yellow journalism' and assist a fascist government in actions that lead to mass casualties must face justice," said Aminul.
The CPJ says it has not been unable to independently review Ekattor TV broadcasts the prosecution has cited as evidence, but had seen a 2013 YouTube documentary presented by Rupa on the incident that challenges the casualty figures.
It also notes that Rupa and Babu have been in jail since August and September 2024 respectively in connection with separate murder charges linked to deaths during the 2024 July Uprising.
The Shapla Chattar Case
The crimes against humanity case had been filed over a 2013 flashpoint in Bangladesh’s political history when Hifazat – a Qawmi madrasa-based organisation – marched to Dhaka’s Motijheel on May 5, 2013 to demand blasphemy laws.
The subsequent joint forces operation at midnight cleared the area, leading to widespread allegations of human rights violations that were largely suppressed under the Awami League's long tenure.
Following the fall of the Hasina government on Aug 5, 2024, new complaints were filed with the ICT, accusing the former prime minister and 18 others of orchestrating the massacre.
The ICT’s investigation agency reported that 58 people were killed in four locations, including Dhaka, during the violence surrounding the Hifazat assembly.
Of them, 32 were identified in Dhaka, 20 in Narayanganj, five in Chattogram, and one in Cumilla.
The figures contrast sharply with police claims at the time that only 11 people died during the day-long clashes and no one died during the night operation.
The human rights organisation Odhikar had previously reported 61 deaths during the midnight raid.
