Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has urged the Bangladesh government to urgently bring to justice those responsible for the killing of journalist Asaduzzaman Tuhin and the assault on journalist Anwar Hossain, and to take immediate measures to guarantee the safety of reporters.
The appeal follows two violent attacks in Gazipur within 48 hours. On 7 August, Dainik Pratidiner Kagoj reporter Tuhin, 38, was hacked to death with machetes by armed men he had filmed while they were chasing a young man in a local market.
Police said a case filed by his brother led to the arrest of five suspects.
A day earlier, Dainik Bangladesher Alo reporter Hossain, 35, was seriously injured when suspected gang members attacked him while he was interviewing rickshaw drivers about extortion. A video shows him lying on the ground as a man strikes him with a brick. He was taken to Gazipur Public Hospital in critical condition. Police have arrested one suspect in connection with the assault.
“These two journalists were targeted for trying to cover the actions of local gangs, highlighting the severe insecurity faced by reporters in the field,” RSF South Asia Desk’s Célia Mercier said.