Press Freedom: Bangladesh drops one notch in world index

Bangladesh slipped one notch down in this year's World Press Freedom Index by Reporters Without Borders, also known as Reporters sans frontières (RSF).

Bangladesh has ranked 151st out of 180 countries while its position was 150th last year, according to the report released recently.

Norway topped the Index for the fourth year in a row in 2020, while Finland is again the runner-up. Denmark (up two at 3rd) is next as both Sweden (down one at 4th) and the Netherlands (down one at 5th) have fallen as a result of increases in cyber-harassment, the report said.

India has ranked 142nd, Pakistan 145th, Bhutan 67th, the Maldives 79th, Nepal 112nd, Afghanistan 122nd and Sri Lanka 127th. North Korea is at the bottom of the list followed by Turkmenistan, Eritrea, and China.

In the chapter for Bangladesh, the report said, "Bangladeshi journalists have been among the leading collateral victims of the tougher methods adopted by the ruling party."

It added that reporters of the two leading dailies are not allowed to attend government press conferences.

It also said, "Ten journalists were attacked and badly beaten by supporters of the Awami League and its student wing, the Chhatra League, while covering municipal elections in Dhaka in early 2020."

According to the report, radical Islamist militants meanwhile harass and even murder journalists and bloggers who dare to defend an overly secular vision of society in Bangladesh.

Criticising the Digital Security Act, the RSF said the government also has a judicial weapon for silencing troublesome journalists -- the 2018 digital security law.

In a general analysis of the situation of press freedom, the report said the coming decade would be decisive for the future of journalism.

"The next ten years will be pivotal for press freedom because of converging crises affecting the future of journalism," the RSF said.