Mahfuz Alam, advisor to the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, claimed that in response to a journalist questioning the justification of a media crackdown, Deepto TV itself had shut down its news operations. The government neither intervened nor made any calls, he said.
Mahfuz further stated, “In the six months of our ministry, we haven’t called anyone. Deepto TV’s journalist was fired and its news division was shut down. Now people will assume the government did it.”
(“Deepto TV halts news broadcast, 3 journalists dismissed” – Manabzamin, April 29, 2025)
However, it is known that as recently as December, regime coordinator Hasnat Abdullah forced the firing of five individuals.
On December 18, Hasnat Abdullah — a top leader of the anti-discrimination student movement — met with the managing director of City Group, the investor behind Somoy TV, along with several associates. There, he submitted a list of 10 individuals at the TV station and pressured for their dismissal.
(BBC News Bangla, December 26, 2024)
These incidents, alongside the disappearance of critical media content over the past nine months, make it abundantly clear that Farooqi and Mahfuz’s illegitimate regime has effectively stripped the media of its freedom.
References—
★ Deepto TV halts news broadcast, 3 journalists dismissed
★ What’s known about Hasnat Abdullah’s involvement in Somoy TV journalist firings
