A collective of journalists representing various national media outlets gathered at Shahbag today to issue a stern condemnation of the police violence directed at working reporters. The demonstration follows a series of assaults during yesterday’s clashes between law enforcement and activists from the Inqilab Manch. The protesting journalists have demanded that the officers involved face immediate legal consequences, warning of a total media boycott of police-related events should their grievances remain unaddressed.
Table of Contents
The Anatomy of the Assault
The protest, organised by the Multimedia Reporters Association (MRA) and independent journalists stationed in Dhaka, took place in front of the National Museum. It highlighted the harrowing experiences of field reporters during the violence that erupted near the Hotel InterContinental intersection on Friday.
One of the primary victims, Abu Saleh Musa, a multimedia reporter for Daily Jugantor, recounted the targeted nature of the violence. “I was broadcasting live on Facebook while police were indiscriminately beating pedestrians on the pavement,” Musa explained. “When an officer saw me speaking into my phone, he struck me with a baton, causing the device to fall. As I knelt to retrieve it, four or five officers descended upon me and beat me from behind.”
A Crisis for the Fourth Estate
The MRA reported that over 20 journalists, including a correspondent from Jamuna Television, sustained injuries during the hour-long skirmish. Senior media figures have voiced suspicions that the aggression was a deliberate attempt to suppress evidence.
Ali Azgar, a Special Correspondent for ATN Bangla, questioned the police’s motives: “I have never seen such gratuitous violence against reporters globally. It appeared as though they were trying to hide something from the public eye. We must ask: what were you trying to conceal by silencing the press?”
Echoing these sentiments, Bangla Vision correspondent Kefayet Shakil argued that the disrespect shown to the media was an affront to the state itself. “By tripping and assaulting a journalist, they haven’t just attacked an individual; they have attacked the Chief Adviser, the Information Adviser, and the very Fourth Estate of Bangladesh,” he remarked.
Casualties and Incident Summary
| Metric | Details |
| Total Journalists Injured | 20+ |
| Primary Organisations Affected | Daily Jugantor, Jamuna TV, ATN Bangla, Bangla Vision |
| Duration of Conflict | Approximately 1 hour |
| Location of Violence | Hotel InterContinental Intersection, Shahbag |
| Key Demand | Judicial inquiry and prosecution of specific officers |
Pressure on the Interim Government
The protesting journalists also directed their frustration toward the Information Adviser, noting his background as a civil rights activist. Critics at the rally pointed out that 24 hours had passed without a formal statement or administrative action against the offending officers.
The consensus among the media community is clear: without accountability, the relationship between the press and the police has reached a terminal breaking point.