DRU Expresses Concern Over Attacks, Killings of Journalists;
Demands Judicial Commission for Justice in Sagar-Runi Murder and Other Cases
NN Report
The Dhaka Reporters Unity (DRU) has voiced deep concern over the recent spate of attacks and killings targeting journalists while they are carrying out their professional duties.
The organisation has also demanded the immediate formation of a judicial commission to investigate and ensure justice in the murders of all journalists, including the high-profile case of journalist couple Sagar Sarowar and Meherun Runi.
In a statement issued today (Saturday) on behalf of the DRU Executive Committee, President Abu Saleh Akon and General Secretary Mainul Hasan Sohel said that although hopes for an improved media environment emerged after the interim government assumed power in August 2024, journalists’ safety remains uncertain.
They noted that in recent months, incidents of attacks, false cases, harassment, and killings of journalists have risen alarmingly. The killing of Gazipur-based journalist Md Asaduzzaman Tuhin, who was brutally hacked to death on the night of 7 August, was described as not just the murder of an individual but as a direct assault on free journalism and freedom of expression. “Impunity and lack of safety are the main reasons behind such violence,” the statement said.
Referring to the 2012 murder of Sagar and Runi, the DRU leaders said the case remains unresolved, with perpetrators still unpunished. They warned that repeated attacks on journalists are undermining press freedom and pushing democracy and human rights towards crisis.
The leaders urged the government to form a separate judicial commission without delay to investigate threats, attacks, and killings of journalists, and to ensure swift justice.
Notably, on 11 February 2012, Sagar Sarowar and Meherun Runi were brutally murdered in their rented flat in Dhaka’s West Rajabazar area. The investigation report in the case has been deferred 113 times, with the next hearing scheduled for 15 October.
