INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
fears about media freedom in the south Asian nation.Campaigners and foreign governments including the US have long expressed worries about
efforts by the prime minister, Sheikh Hasina, to silence criticism and what they see as creeping authoritarianism.The Dainik Dinkal, a
broadsheet Bengali-language newspaper, has been a vital voice of the Bangladesh Nationalist party (BNP) for more than three decades
It employs hundreds of journalists and press workers and covers news stories that the mainstream newspapers, most of which are controlled by
pro-government businesspeople, rarely do.This includes the frequent arrests of BNP activists and what the party says are thousands of fake
cases against its supporters.The newspaper said the Dhaka district authorities ordered the shutdown on 26 December, but it continued to
Photograph: Xinhua/Rex/ShutterstockThe order, a copy of which was obtained by AFP, said the printing permit of the newspaper was cancelled
without handing over his job to another person.Biswas said Rahman, now based in London, submitted his resignation and appointed a new
publisher, but the authorities did not accept the changes
The Bangladesh government has previously blocked websites several times, notably in December 2018 before national elections.The 2022 World
Press Freedom Index compiled by Reporters Without Borders ranked Bangladesh at 162, worse than Russia (155) and Afghanistan
This article first appeared/also appeared in theguardian.com
