BJIM condemns nationwide attack on journos
It said this was not what press freedom advocacy groups like BJIM expected from the interim government
The Bangladeshi Journalists in International Media (BJIM) has strongly condemned the "continuous surge of attacks" on journalists nationwide.
In a statement issued today (7 February), it said, "Private TV station BanglaVision's Kuakata reporter Jahirul Islam Miron was indiscriminately hacked with sharp weapons and left in serious condition in front of his house on Tuesday evening. In another incident, ATN News TV's senior reporter Zabel Akhter was physically assaulted by some activists of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party-BNP while he was on duty on Wednesday."
It said on the same evening, Syed Mainul Ahasan Maruf, an Ekattor TV staff, was physically assaulted along with his workplace driver and other colleagues while covering the demolition of a museum belonging to the country's ousted Prime Minister's family.
Keep updated, follow The Business Standard's Google news channel
"At the same event, Mohammad Omar Farok, a staff reporter for independent24.tv, was assaulted by an angry mob as he refused to comply with their directions about what to say during a live TV report Piece To Camera (PTC)."
The BJIM said the sharp rise in attacks on journalists in recent days was alarming.
"These repeated incidents reflect a culture of impunity and failure to uphold justice, severely undermining press freedom," the statement reads.
It said this was not what press freedom advocacy groups like BJIM expected from the interim government.
"We strongly urge the government to take immediate action against the perpetrators and ensure justice ergo press freedom does not continue to suffer as it did over the past decade.
Simultaneously, the government should ensure proper treatment for the wounded journalists till they regain full health," it concluded.
