The Foreign Correspondents' Club of South Asia (FCC), the Press Club of India (PCI), the Indian Women's Press Corps (IWPC), and the Press Association (PA) have expressed "collective anguish and concern" about the selective harassment of Bangladeshi journalists, as well as the "undue restrictions" imposed upon them.

In a letter to Chief Adviser Prof Muhammad Yunus on Friday, the groups collectively drew his "urgent attention" and stated that implicating up to 52 respected media personnel in murder cases, imprisoning some of them, and filing unsustainable charges against many others in the International Crimes Tribunal are "blatant violations" of freedom of expression and thought.

"We hope you share with us the belief that a free press should be the pride of Bangladesh. Kindly order the release forthwith of journalists who have been arrested on frivolous charges," reads the letter seen by UNB.

"Eliminating dissent and suppressing press freedom tarnish the image of not only your Administration but also of Bangladesh as a country," the organisations said.

They urged Prof Yunus to be vigilant against all those who are enemies of press freedom and act against them if they harass journalists.

"We request you, as a globally respected Nobel Peace laureate, to personally intervene and ensure the safety and security of journalists in carrying out their jobs without fear and favour," the letter reads.

S Venkat Narayan, President, FCC, Gautam Lahiri, President PCI, Parul Sharma, President, IWPC and Chhaya Kant Nayak, President, PA jointly signed the letter sent to Chief Adviser's Office.