Bangladesh
New regulations to ban political coveragePosted Mar 25 2007
The Bangladeshi interim government announced new regulations in its Emergency Powers Rule of 2007 on Jan. 26 that will severely restrict news reporting. With penalties of up to five years, the law limits press coverage of any political news. These rules were imposed in response to a state of emergency triggered by the resignation of President Iajuddin Ahmed and the indefinite postponing of national elections. The new rules cover a range of political activities and allows the government to seize printed material and confiscate printing presses and broadcast equipment. Almost any form of political expression can be banned. The rules will remain in force until the government lifts the state of emergency, according to the announcement.