Attack on journos worries IFJ
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) has voiced concern over the increasing hazards facing journalists in Bangladesh as political strife intensifies.
The Brussels-based media rights watchdog raised the worries in a web article titled “Journalists Attacked, Injured in Bangladesh's Intensifying Political Conflict” yesterday.
“Injury to journalists, either in direct retribution for perceived negative reporting or as a consequence of disregard for their safety, is a clear violation of media rights", the IFJ said.
"The press should be able to report freely on events in the public interest without fear for their personal safety”.
The article mentioned the incidents of May 14 and May 16 in this regard.
“On May 14, the nephew of a leading politician and minister in the Bangladesh government assaulted a journalist in the locality of Pabna district, allegedly in retaliation for stories published on his involvement in possible corruption".
Abdullah Al Mamun, the local correspondent for the Bangla daily Kaler Kontho, was admitted to Pabna Medical College Hospital (PMCH) with serious injuries.
A case has been registered against all those believed responsible.
“On May 16, police baton charged a protest organised by the opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) in the capital city of Dhaka, injuring several participants and at least five journalists”, the article said. All of the injured journalists were either reporters or camera-persons for local news channels.
“The IFJ joins the Bangladesh journalists' unions in demanding quick and effective action in both of these cases, to challenge the idea that journalists are fair game in the intensifying conflict between the ruling party and the opposition”.
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