Journalists’ safety now outweighs freedom of expression concerns: Mahfuz Anam

Editor and publisher of The Daily Star Mahfuz Anam has said threats against journalists in Bangladesh have moved beyond freedom of expression and become a matter of survival.

He made the remarks while speaking at a joint protest meeting titled Bangladesh under the attack of mob violence at a city hotel in Dhaka on Monday, December 22. The programme was organised by the Editors’ Council and the Newspapers Owners’ Association of Bangladesh in protest against the attacks and arson at the offices of Prothom Alo and The Daily Star, and the harassment of Editors’ Council President and New Age Editor Nurul Kabir.

Referring to social media activity following the attacks, Mahfuz Anam said messages had circulated calling for journalists of The Daily Star and Prothom Alo to be hunted down and killed in their homes. He said these were no longer expressions of opinion but explicit death threats.

Recalling the arson at The Daily Star building, he said he later learned that many staff members had been trapped inside. About 25 to 26 journalists were stuck on the rooftop, while fire service personnel were initially prevented from entering the premises.

He said if those hostile to The Daily Star had wanted, they could have asked journalists to leave before setting the building on fire, but instead their actions showed an intent to cause loss of life.

Mahfuz Anam said the incident was brutal and had brought journalists’ safety to the forefront, stressing that the issue was no longer about free speech but about the right to stay alive. He urged journalists and democratic forces to unite in response to such threats, calling for collective resistance without resorting to violence.