Bangladesh has been categorised "in crisis" for freedom of speech and expression, said a latest report of Article 19, a British human rights organization.
According to the Global Expression Report 2024, released worldwide on Tuesday, Bangladesh ranked 128th out of 161 countries in terms of freedom of expression, with a score of 12 out of 100. Countries getting between 0-19 are categorised as "in crisis".
In its report last year, Article 19 gave Bangladesh a score of 13 out of 100 and ranked it 131st out of 161 countries.
The report shows that Bangladesh’s position of freedom of speech and expression improved compared with the previous year.
The organisation's South Asia and Bangladesh Regional Director, Sheikh Manjur-E-Alam, presented the latest report at a hotel in the capital on Tuesday.
Executive Director of TIB Iftekharuzzaman and the Chief Executive of the Bangladesh Environmental Lawyers Association (BELA) Syeda Rizwana Hasan also spoke at the event.
There shall be free, unrestricted freedom of expression and information: Arafat
According to the report, Bangladesh scored the lowest in the category of 'Journalists working without suppression'. From 2007, Bangladesh's score in this category has been going down as well as its score in the 'self-censorship of the media' category, the report said, adding that the trend has been going on for more than one and a half decades.
Bangladesh also scored the second lowest among the South Asian countries, with only Afghanistan scoring lower than Bangladesh.
The report said the state of freedom of expression in India and Afghanistan is "in crisis".
India scored 19 out of 100, and Afghanistan 2. Nepal remained at the top position in South Asia, scoring 57 out of 100.
The report mentioned five categories: "crisis (0-19)", "highly restricted (20-39)", "restricted (40-59)", "less restricted (60-79)", and "open (80-100)".
The data reveals that in 2023, the percentage of people living in countries under "crisis" category rose to 53 percent, which is more than four billion people in 39 countries.
Drik hosts frank conversation about freedom of expression, media in Bangladesh