The United States Department of State spokesperson Matthew Miller has said that the US strongly supports the role of a free and independent media in maintaining effective democratic institutions and promoting government transparency.

‘We strongly support the role of a free and independent media in maintaining effective democratic institutions and promoting government transparency,’ he said at a routine press briefing at the State Department in Washington on Monday as his attention was drawn to a recent ‘threatening statement’ issued by the Bangladesh Police Service Association, aimed at media outlets reporting on police corruption.

Miller said that they objected to any efforts to intimidate journalists to prevent them from conducting their important work.

‘We object to any efforts to harass or intimidate journalists to prevent them from conducting their important work,’ he said.

The questioner mentioned that this was minimal compared to the widespread corruption involving top regime personnel, which the controlled media often ignored.

Miller was asked what action the US would take to address these threats against press freedom and combat corruption, referring to the international press freedom index where Bangladesh ranks 165 out of 180 countries.

On June 21, the BPSA in a statement termed recent media reports against its retired and serving officials as ‘partial, ill-motivated, sweeping and exaggerated’ and also requested the media to be more cautious while publishing reports on the force.