A temporarily suspended judge has filed a defamation case in a Dhaka court against seven people, including the managing director of private television channel Channel 24, over alleged false and defamatory broadcasts.
On Monday afternoon (9 November), former Lalmonirhat Joint District and Sessions Judge Md Ariful Islam (currently under temporary suspension) lodged the complaint in the court of Dhaka Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Md Sefatullah. The court recorded his statement and directed the Detective Branch (DB) of police to investigate the matter.
Plaintiff’s lawyer Azizur Rahman Dulu said the channel had run “fake news” centred on a land dispute involving the judge’s late father-in-law and stepfather-in-law. He claimed the reports contributed to the judge’s suspension.
A legal notice demanding an apology had been sent earlier; when none was forthcoming, the case was filed. A separate compensation suit may follow.
The accused are Channel 24 Managing Director A.K. Azad, Searchlight programme editor Faisal Alam, Executive Director Zahirul Alam, Head of Multimedia Rajib Khan, Assignment Editor Maksudun Nabi, Senior News Editor Tuhin Qayyum, and News Reporter Zahid Hossain.
According to the complaint, on 9 October Channel 24 broadcast a report titled “There is a case, no search for plaintiff-witness: Sensation in investigation surrounding the judge” both in its regular news bulletins and in the 9 pm investigative programme Searchlight.
The plaintiff alleges his statements were selectively edited and distorted with malicious intent. After the Law and Justice Division temporarily suspended him on 15 October, the channel reportedly aired follow-up coverage claiming the suspension followed its earlier report.
The plaintiff maintains that the suspension stemmed from a departmental case under the Judicial Service (Discipline) Rules 2017 for alleged “inefficiency” and “misconduct,” initiated on the basis of a complaint by former Shariatpur District and Sessions Judge (now Magura Women and Child Abuse Suppression Tribunal judge) Md Solaiman.
He calls the claim that Channel 24’s coverage caused the suspension “completely false, fabricated and defamatory.” He submitted a pen drive containing evidence of the alleged distortion and asked the court to take cognisance of the offence and issue summons against the accused.
Journalist persecution in Bangladesh
The case comes against a backdrop of intense pressure on the media. Human rights groups have documented widespread violence, legal harassment and killings of journalists in the post-2024 period.
- The Human Rights Support Society (HRSS) recorded at least 518 journalists facing violence, intimidation or harassment in 288 incidents in the first nine months of 2026 alone—already approaching the full-year 2025 total of 539 journalists in 318 incidents. In September 2026, 35 journalists were affected in 20 incidents.
- Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) reported that 1,073 journalists experienced repression (attacks, threats, detention, job loss or worse) in 476 incidents between 5 August 2024 and 1 November 2025. This included six murders, 459 physical attacks, 189 dismissals or suspensions, and dozens of detentions.
- Ain o Salish Kendra (ASK) counted 381 journalists abused or harassed in 2025 (three killed) and noted continuing high numbers into 2026, with harassment by law enforcement rising sharply.
- The Manabadhikar Shongskriti Foundation (MSF) logged 289 incidents affecting 641 journalists in 2025, including injuries, threats and legal cases. Several senior journalists remain in detention on multiple murder charges linked to the 2024 uprising period, charges that press-freedom groups describe as lacking credible evidence.
- Bangladesh has ranked poorly on the Reporters Without Borders World Press Freedom Index (around 149th–152nd of 180 countries in recent years). Impunity for killings remains high, and legal tools such as the Cyber Security Act continue to be used against media workers.
These figures illustrate a climate in which both investigative reporting and defamation complaints against journalists occur against a wider pattern of violence, arrests and professional retaliation.