Bangladesh’s interim administration has issued a warning to all print, electronic and online media outlets, instructing them not to publish or broadcast any statements made by “convicted and fugitive” former prime minister Sheikh Hasina, citing threats to national security and public order.
According to The Daily Star, the National Cyber Security Agency (NCSA) released a statement on Monday asserting that comments attributed to Hasina may include directives or appeals that could incite “violence, disorder and criminal activities” and potentially disturb social cohesion.
“We urge the media to act responsibly in the interest of national security,” the agency said in the release.
The NCSA expressed that it was “deeply concerned” to see certain media organisations circulating remarks linked to the “convicted” and “fugitive” former leader.
The statement also pointed out that publishing or airing messages from individuals deemed both convicted and fugitive breaches the Cyber Security Ordinance, stressing that authorities can "remove or block content that threatens national integrity, security or public order, promotes ethnic or religious hatred, or directly incites violence".
The agency added that adopting false identities or unlawfully accessing systems to disseminate hate speech, ethnic hatred or incitements to violence constitutes a punishable offence, carrying penalties of up to two years’ imprisonment and/or fines of up to Tk 10 lakh.
While underscoring its commitment to freedom of expression and press freedom, the NCSA urged news outlets to "avoid" reproducing any "violent, instigating or criminally provocative" remarks made by convicted persons and to "remain mindful of their legal obligations".
On Monday, Bangladesh’s International Crimes Tribunal sentenced Hasina, 78, to death in absentia for “crimes against humanity” linked to her government’s harsh response to last year’s student-led protest movement.
Former home minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal received the same sentence on related charges.
Hasina has been residing in India since fleeing Bangladesh on August 5 last year amid widespread unrest. She was previously declared a fugitive by the court.
Reacting to the judgment, Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus welcomed the ruling, stating that it upheld the core principle that "no one, regardless of power, is above the law".
Hasina, meanwhile, rejected the tribunal’s findings, calling the accusations “biased and politically motivated” and describing the ruling as the product of a “rigged tribunal” formed and overseen by an “unelected government with no democratic mandate”.