(RSF/IFEX) – RSF has deplored the manhandling of several photographers and a reporter by pro-government lawyers at a court house in the capital, Dhaka, on 6 September 2003. The organisation is greatly concerned about growing violence against journalists in the country. The photographers were taking pictures of a brawl between lawyers supporting the ruling Bangladesh […]
(RSF/IFEX) – RSF has deplored the manhandling of several photographers and a reporter by pro-government lawyers at a court house in the capital, Dhaka, on 6 September 2003. The organisation is greatly concerned about growing violence against journalists in the country.
The photographers were taking pictures of a brawl between lawyers supporting the ruling Bangladesh Nationalist Party and others backing the opposition Awami League when they were attacked, their equipment damaged and film destroyed. Two photographers were taken to hospital with minor injuries.
RSF called on Prime Minister Khaleda Zia to investigate the incident and punish those responsible. The organisation notes that, in the country’s unstable political climate, the media are frequently attacked by the government and its supporters. Bangladesh is one of the few countries where journalists are targeted on a daily basis by the government and security forces.
RSF also reiterated its concern about summary legal proceedings such as those against journalist Hiramon Mondol, whose trial on trumped-up charges began on 1 September (see IFEX alerts of 8 September, 28 and 19 August 2003).
The photographers injured in the court house attack were Mohammed Hasan (“Bhorer Kagoj”), Subir Kumar (“Ajker Kagoj”), Shafiqul Alam and Indrajit Ghose (“News Today”), Feroz Chowdhury (“Prothom Alo”), Mahbub Hossain Nabin (“Jugantor”), Shambu Nath Nandi (“Bangladesh Observer”) and Shafiqul Islam (“Kagoj”). Reporter Russell Akhter (“Bhorer Kagoj”) was also injured.
The Bangladesh Federal Union of Journalists (BFUJ) and the Dhaka Union of Journalists (DUJ) called for a demonstration in front of the National Press Club on 10 September to protest the violence.
RSF has recorded 51 physical attacks on journalists in Bangladesh so far this year, including a dozen murder attempts, as well as 50 death threats, 13 arrests, 14 unjustified prosecutions and five kidnappings.
