Renowned economist Dr. Debapriya Bhattacharya has warned that despite the end of what he called Sheikh Hasina’s authoritarian rule, freedom of expression remains constrained in Bangladesh. Speaking at the launch of his book “Economy of Scandals”, he noted that the country is still run for the powerful, not for the people.

Dr. Bhattacharya highlighted the growing influence of an aggressive segment of readers attempting to impose “moral censorship” on journalists, calling them a third, non-governmental force restricting press freedom. SANEM Executive Director Dr. Selim Raihan added that the government has shown little interest in reform, ignoring key task force reports while an anti-reform coalition is gaining ground.