Political rallies: CPJ seeks neutral probe into assaults on journos

UNB :
Bangladesh authorities must immediately and impartially investigate the assaults on at least 27 journalists covering recent political rallies and hold the perpetrators accountable, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has said.

On October 28, at least 27 journalists covering rallies in Dhaka were attacked.

CPJ spoke to journalists who accused BNP supporters of attacking the journalists.

Md Rafsan Jani, a crime reporter for the daily Kalbela newspaper, told CPJ that he was filming BNP supporters assaulting police officers when two demonstrators approached him and took his phone and identification card.

A group of BNP supporters then surrounded Jani and beat him with iron rods, sticks, and pipes as he repeatedly identified himself as a journalist, he said, adding that he managed to escape after around 20 minutes.

As of November 1, his items had not been returned.

The CPJ also took note of The Daily Star report that claimed Awami League demonstrators beat the daily Kalbela reporter Abu Saleh Musa while covering their rally.

“The attacks on at least 27 Bangladeshi journalists covering recent political rallies in Dhaka must see swift and transparent accountability,” said CPJ Program Director Carlos Martínez de la Serna.

“The leadership and supporters of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party and the Awami League, as well as police, must respect the rights of journalists to freely and safely report on the lead-up to the upcoming election scheduled for January,” he said.

SA Masum, a photographer for the daily Inqilab newspaper, told CPJ that he was taking photos of a confrontation between Awami League and BNP supporters when his head was repeatedly struck from behind with what he suspected to be a bamboo stick, knocking him unconscious while the attackers, whom he did not identify, continued to beat him.

Bystanders at the scene rescued Masum and took him to the hospital, where he was treated for a concussion and severe bruising and open lesions throughout his body, according to the journalist, who shared photos of his injuries with CPJ.

Md Sirajum Salekin, a crime reporter for the Dhaka Times, told CPJ that he was on his motorcycle on the way to cover clashes at the chief justice’s residence when a vehicle hit his motorcycle from behind, causing him to fall and break two bones in his right leg.

Salekin said he believed he was targeted because he was wearing his press badge and his motorcycle was marked with a sticker of the Dhaka Times.

Mohammad Ali Mazed, a video reporter for the French news agency Agence France-Presse, told CPJ that he was covering a clash between police and BNP demonstrators while holding a camera and press identification when five to six demonstrators surrounded him.