In Bangladesh today, the detention of Monjurul Alam Panna stands as an ominous testament to the shrinking space for free journalism and civic debate. This is not simply the story of one man behind bars. It is a warning – one that the nation cannot afford to ignore.

Panna, a journalist and YouTube channel creator known for his work on the platform Manchitro, was arrested after participating in a public round-table discussion on 29 August. The discussion—organized by the civil society platform ‘Mancha 71’ and held at the auditorium of the independent association Dhaka Reporters Unity – was meant to reflect on the country’s Liberation War and the Constitution. Instead, the meeting was disrupted by a group who accused participants of “sympathy” for the ousted former prime minister. Panna himself intervened by calling on the police to restore order.

Yet rather than restore justice, the authorities proceeded to arrest him and 15 others present at the meeting – charging them under Bangladesh’s Anti-Terrorism Act with the sweeping allegation of “conspiring to overthrow the interim government.”

It is gravely alarming when a journalist is treated as though he is a terrorist simply for exercising his professional duty: to speak, to question, and to probe. The duties of a journalist in any democracy include drawing attention to history, to institutional foundations, and to the interests of the public. In a country whose founding story is anchored in the 1971 war and whose Constitution proclaims the........

© Blitz