A lone journalist's struggle to bring his attackers to justice
After fighting off threats, offers and a delayed judicial process for nearly seven years, a senior TV reporter Shakil Hasan’s attackers were sentenced to only four months of jail last year. None served jail time. Shakil remains in pursuit of justice
It was around 1 pm on 6 November 2016. Shakil Hasan, a senior TV reporter, stood inside a mosque in Old Dhaka's Debidas Ghat Lane and splashed water on his face. He was reflecting on what had happened just a short while ago.
He had narrowly escaped death.
The death scare was not a random accident. It was a deliberate - a cold-blooded murder attempt - while he was carrying out his duties for an investigative report.
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First, he was chased down from the spot – an illegal polythene manufacturing factory – to a small grocery store on a narrow lane. Then, kerosene was poured all over his body.
When the liquid reached his eyes, causing immense burning, he was momentarily blinded.
With just a single flaming match, he would have been set on fire. Shakil faced the possibility of the most dreadful death.
But at the very last moment, the assailants were halted by someone with a clear conscience. The guardian angel promptly grabbed one of the assaulters by the hand and exclaimed, "What on earth do you think you are doing? This poor fellow will be burned alive!"
Thus, Shakil was given a new lease of life by a stranger, whom he later identified as Kamal.
And right at that moment while splashing water on his face to ease the pain in his eyes, a steel-hearted Shakil made up his mind about his next course of action.
He would have to confront the culprits legally.
He was well aware of the fact that they had connections with politically influential people who would leave no stone unturned to save them.
The experienced court-beat journalist also understood that the legal process could drag on endlessly until it exhausted the last grain of his patience and perseverance.
Despite these odds, Shakil was determined to embark on this battle.
"I wanted to do this not only for myself, but for all the journalists out there, who often find themselves at the mercy of the powerful classes in society and seldom receive justice for the crimes committed against them," Shakil told me in a recent conversation.
Notably, journalist oppression is a regular occurrence in Bangladesh. Reporters Without Borders (RSF) report shows that Bangladesh ranks 163rd among 180 countries in the World Press Freedom Index 2023.
At least four journalists were killed, and 292 others faced attacks, torture and legal cases during the first 11 months of 2023, according to another report from a faction of the Bangladesh Federal Union of Journalists.
The report identified that the highest number, 48 journalists, faced torture, legal cases and harassment in July, followed by 43 more victimised in the subsequent month. In March, 40 journalists experienced oppression. Additionally, the four journalists were killed in January, June, September and October.
But through his case, Shakil aimed to make a difference. "I wanted to set an example that not everyone succumbs to power, nor can everyone be swayed by money," he said.
As the 36-year-old journalist continued to narrate the story, it was as clear as daylight that these words were not merely empty rhetoric. With a firm jaw and a pair of glaring eyes, he spoke with fervent conviction, mirroring the actions he took on the aforementioned day.
Back at the mosque on the fateful day, as Shakil splashed the final drops of water on his face before changing into a T-shirt handed by someone from the neighbourhood, his hands were trembling. But his morale remained steadfast.
Shakil went to the Chawk Bazar Police Station at 2 pm on the day and levelled accusations against two persons named Jabbar and Rahim, along with an additional 10-12 other unidentified individuals, of torture, vandalism and murder attempt against himself and his camera person Shahin Alam.
Six days after the attack, Shakil once again returned to the spot and finished shooting. A three-episode investigative report started airing only 10 days after the incident.
Fast forward to February 2024. More than seven years have passed since the red-letter day in Shakil's life. Still, Shakil can vividly recall every detail, and quite rightfully divides his life into two parts, "The one before that incident, and the one thereafter."
In May 2023, the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (CMM) of Dhaka issued a verdict that sentenced three accused to a meagre four months in jail, though they didn't have to stay behind bars for a single day. Three others were acquitted of the charges.
As expected, Shakil is not content with this verdict. He continues to persist in his quest for justice, even in the face of constant threats and pressure for negotiations from different quarters.
How the crime unfolded
In 2002, the Bangladesh government banned thin polythene and plastic bags. As such, Bangladesh became the first country in the world to impose such a restriction.
The ban was initially hailed as a major step towards reducing environmental pollution. Unfortunately, though, it proved effective only for a few years.
According to a study published last year, more than 2.50 crore polythene bags are thrown away after using them only once in Dhaka city every day. As per another study, 1.40 plastic and polythene bags are produced in 3,000 factories in the country every day.
These bags, utilised for various purposes, ultimately contribute to river pollution when disposed of as waste. Consequently, this pollution adversely affects the soil and water, making the cultivation of crops and fishing extremely challenging.
Needless to say, the situation wasn't much different in 2016 either.
Therefore, the privately-owned news channel Jamuna Television decided to do an investigative report on the illegal production of polythene bags in and around Dhaka.
Shakil was assigned to this report. He spent several days conducting background research, which revealed that there were numerous illegal polythene manufacturing factories in areas such as Mirpur, Shyampur and the old part of the city.
Among them, the factories in Old Dhaka appeared to be operating with the greatest danger, given the high population density and the proximity to the Buriganga river, which was already polluted beyond salvation due to industrial waste.
"Through my sources, I found out that one of the prime locations for illegal factories was in Sowari Ghat. Specifically, at 30, Debidas Ghat Lane, there were several buildings housing illegal polythene factories," Shakil said.
So, Shakil first went to the location to recce and became certain that there indeed were some illegal factories.
Then, at around 11.30 am on 6 November 2016, Shakil returned to the location again, this time in a microbus with his camera person Shahin and the entire TV setup.
Outside the building, there was a collapsible gate that was shut at the time. However, it was evident that polythene production was in full swing inside. So, Shakil and Shahin began filming the building and peering through the gap in the collapsible gate to capture footage from inside.
Suddenly, around 25-30 workers emerged from inside and aggressively inquired about what Shakil and his team were up to. With Shakil holding a microphone and Shahin carrying a camera, there was no doubt in anyone's mind that they were journalists.
"We also did not wish to hide our true identities," shared Shakil. "But we realised that telling them why exactly we went there would not be a wise decision."
So, Shakil replied that they were simply capturing footage of the surroundings.
But that wasn't sufficient to satisfy the workers. In the meantime, the factory owners Zakir and Rahim and their other brother Jabbar, also arrived.
Together they attacked the journalists, repeatedly asserting that they had the backing of the politically powerful people of the locality.
Zakir aggressively approached Shahin to grab his camera lens, while Rahim retrieved a stick and broke the camera with it.
Up until that point, everything was recorded on the camera, and the footage and screenshots from it were eventually submitted to the court as evidence.
Meanwhile, after enduring continuous assault from the factory owners and their employees, the cameraperson Shahin fled to the TV station's microbus parked outside the alley.
Shakil found himself trapped and couldn't immediately locate an escape route. When he finally seized an opportunity, he fled in the opposite direction, believing that the nearby grocery store might provide a safer refuge.
Little did he know the extent of the atrocities awaiting him.
Threats, requests and threats
Ironically, what happened on 6 November 2016 was perhaps the simplest of events in Shakil's ordeal of seeking justice. Things only grew increasingly complicated from that point onward.
Though he made no delay whatsoever in going to the nearby police station and filing the case with the culprits, police weren't able to capture them.
"Even before I went to the police station, police alongside the local councillor had gone to the location. But by that time, the accused had already fled the scene, leaving the factory completely locked," said Shakil.
And that remained the case for the most part.
On 6 June 2017, Chawk Bazar Police Station's inspector Muradul Islam filed a charge sheet accusing eight people.
The accused in the case were Shaon Hawladar, Abdur Rahim, Abhi, Habibur Rahman, Jabbar, Zakir Hossain, Jahangir Alam and Ilias Hossain. Then on 4 January 2018, the court acquitted the accused Jahangir and Ilias, and framed charges against the other six.
According to the police, all three of the main accused (as they were the factory owners) – Zakir, Rahim and Jabbar – had immediately gone into hiding after the incident, and they were never located by the time the case eventually went to court. The other three were detained at various points, but ultimately, all were granted bail.
Interestingly, many heavyweight lawyers showed eagerness to represent Shakil in the case. "Because the incident was supposed to get good coverage in the media, at least on the channel I worked for. So, those lawyers saw it as a favourable opportunity to bask in the limelight for a while," Shakil explained.
However, he knew that as soon as the hype surrounding the incident subsided, so would the interest of any of the high-profile advocates.
Therefore, after much consideration, he roped in Ekhlas Uddin Bhuiyan, who took care of the case from the outset as if it were his own.
"He went to the extent of covering nearly all the fees and necessary payments associated with the case. I wouldn't likely have received such sincerity from anyone else."
During the legal proceedings, Shakil, Shahin and 10 other people gave evidence before the court. The investigating officer of the case, Muradul Islam, also testified about the truth of the incident in the light of the investigation.
As mentioned earlier, four minutes of camera footage of the attack as well as a few screenshots were presented to the court as important documents in the case which could identify the main accused. They were kept in the general registrar department of the court.
The court included these documents in the proceedings of the case, stating that they would play an important role in identifying the context of the attack, the attackers and proving the assassination attempt.
However, amidst all these events, Shakil was also being approached for negotiations and he received direct threats.
The negotiation requests came from various sectors of society. "Among them were several student leaders, the personal secretary of a minister, a film director and even an actress," Shakil said.
The initial negotiation offer started at Tk2 lakh and escalated to as much as Tk30 lakh.
As he firmly rejected all those offers, more threats to his life followed.
Many times, when Shakil returned home at midnight or dawn after a long night shift, he would feel as if someone was tailing him. "It felt as though someone was exhaling a warm breath on my shoulder, and I was walking on a thin line between life and death," Shakil recounted.
However, when he filed another General Diary (GD) with the local police station, those followers stopped haunting him.
The never-ending battle
A new issue emerged from a different angle.
After the completion of witness testimonies, both parties presented their arguments in the case on 7 September 2022. Then CMM Court Judge Rezaul Karim Chowdhury scheduled the verdict for 20 September 2022.
Nevertheless, on the initially designated date, the court deferred the pronouncement of the verdict to 18 October 2022. Subsequently, the CMM court rescheduled the verdict date to 8 November 2022.
However, instead of delivering the verdict on that day, the court requested the DVD of the footage and set a new hearing date for 13 December 2022. It was later disclosed that the DVD of the footage had mysteriously disappeared from the general registrar's possession.
Despite the submission of a new DVD of the footage, the judge was absent on that particular day. Hence, the subsequent verdict date was rescheduled to 26 January 2023. However, once again, the absence of a judge was noted on that day, leading to the next scheduled date on 2 March 2023.
On 2 March, the investigating officer Muradul Islam provided testimony once again, confirming that the resubmitted footage was identical to the earlier submission. Following this, a new verdict date was set for 13 March. As the accused Shaon, Habibur and Kabir were not present in court on that day, arrest warrants were issued against them.
The re-argument date was scheduled for 28 March. On that day, the court designated 16 April for the presentation of arguments. At the date, the defence presented written arguments. Following this, the court initially set the judgement day for 9 May. However, on that day, the court once again postponed the verdict, rescheduling it for 16 May, citing that the verdict was not prepared on 9 May.
Once again, the court did not deliver a verdict on 16 May. A new date was subsequently set for 30 May.
Finally, after numerous postponements, the verdict was indeed announced on 30 May.
However, the court's decision revealed that it only found evidence of causing harm to Shakil and Shahin against the three brothers – Rahim, Jabbar and Zakir.
Thus, they were only sentenced to a four-month punishment. However, since they had already obtained advanced bail, they could avoid any incarceration time.
Never say die
"Even if we exclude the charge of attempted murder, the sentence is not enough for simply hurting us. So, I am not satisfied with the judgement of the case. I will appeal against the verdict," Shakil told the media after the verdict.
"From my perspective, this ruling stands in opposition to the principles of independent journalism. I had anticipated a more exemplary sentence to be handed down," he added. And to this day, Shakil still sticks to this belief. In his view, the accused deserve a minimum of 7 to 10 years of imprisonment.
So, he is now trying to file an appeal against the verdict in the Metropolitan Sessions Judge Court.
Shakil may have the moral support of many others in his pursuit of continuing this fight, but on the actual battlefield, he is literally alone.
Even some people, whom he considers his true well-wishers, often try to dissuade him from this "wild goose chase." His mother, always concerned about his safety and a secure future, also implores him to abstain from this legal battle and to bid goodbye to journalism.
But Shakil is not someone to give up. He believes he has received a second chance at life, and he wants to make it truly count.
"Maybe I am alone in this fight. But if I can stand by the truth till the end, it will inspire many other journalists to perform their duties without being afraid of any harm being done against them," Shakil said.
"Essentially, this is my battle on behalf of the journalism profession as a whole. We have seen how the Sagar-Runi murder case's deadline for probe submission was extended more than 100 times. There are numerous other instances. I want these vicious cycles to end," the 36-year-old journalist concluded.
