Bangladesh: BNP workers assault journalist inside Khaleda Zia’s office in Dhaka

In a disturbing echo of hostility toward the press, a local journalist in Bangladesh fell victim to a violent assault at the heart of political power. Jahidul Islam, a staff reporter with the daily Amar Desh, was attacked on Sunday afternoon by workers of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) at the party chairperson Khaleda Zia's Gulshan office in Dhaka, while he was documenting a tense scuffle among nomination seekers from the Sylhet division.

“I had been at the BNP chairperson's Gulshan office since morning, covering the news and speaking with aspirants. Around 4:30 p.m., a quarrel erupted among the candidates,” Jahidul recounted to The Daily Star. “As I tried to capture the scene on my phone, three to four men dragged me into a room and began beating me. They broke my phone and, upon seeing my press ID, seized it and threw me out onto the street.”

Jahidul identified one of the attackers as Mohammad Faisal, reportedly the cameraman for the BNP’s social media page. “Faisal struck me first, broke my phone, and then others joined in the assault,” he said. Reports suggest that several other local journalists were subjected to harassment during the chaotic incident.

The attack has ignited outrage among the journalistic community, who condemned the violence, the vandalism of equipment, and the confiscation of a press identity card as an egregious affront to press freedom. Borhan Uddin, Chief Reporter of Dhaka Mail, said, “The individual leading this assault, Faisal, wields considerable influence within the party, but no amount of political clout justifies violence against journalists. BNP must act swiftly to file a case and ensure his arrest.”

This episode is part of a troubling pattern. Last week, Bangladeshi Journalists in International Media (BJIM) voiced concern over a spate of attacks on reporters, allegedly carried out by local enforcers, charity operators, and even members of law enforcement. BJIM decried these incidents as a “grave violation of press freedom and an alarming regression for media rights in Bangladesh,” underscoring the precarious position of journalists striving to report truth in the face of intimidation.

With IANS inputs