Editors’ Council voices concern over 3 issues including DRU incident

The Editors’ Council has voiced concern over three recent developments — police denial of a widely published protest photo, an attempt to create unrest at Dhaka Reporters’ Unity (DRU), and moves to revive a controversial media law from the previous government.

In a statement issued Wednesday (September 3), Council President Mahfuz Anam and General Secretary Dewan Hanif Mahmud said police rejected as “AI-generated” a photo showing an officer pressing a student’s face during protests at Bangladesh University of Engineering. Subsequent verification by multiple media outlets confirmed the photo’s authenticity.

The Council said the police claim “is not consistent with reality.”

The statement also condemned the August 28 incident at DRU, where outsiders stormed a pre-scheduled roundtable and tried to create unrest. The Council backed DRU’s protest against the intrusion.

On the proposed Media Workers’ Protection Act, the Editors’ Council noted that the interim government appears to be moving ahead with the draft initiated under the Awami League, keeping its contentious provisions intact.

The Information Ministry has sought feedback from stakeholders, including the Council.

“These trends reflect the mindset of the previous government,” the statement warned, adding that any repetition of restrictive policies would echo past interference in independent journalism.