Bangladeshi journalists say right to life at stake as mobs target media

Bangladesh’s media finds itself under siege, as the fight for freedom of expression gives way to a more urgent struggle: the right of journalists simply to stay alive. This stark reality was underscored on Monday by editors of leading Bangladeshi newspapers, following a violent attack on the offices of Prothom Alo and The Daily Star in Dhaka.

On Thursday night, mobs vandalised and set ablaze the newspaper offices, trapping journalists and staff on rooftops for hours while police and fire services were initially barred from reaching them. “Freedom of expression is no longer the main issue. Now it is about the right to stay alive,” said Daily Star editor and publisher Mahfuz Anam at a press conference attended by senior politicians, business leaders, and media owners.

Anam described the assault as a direct threat to the lives of media personnel rather than an expression of dissent against specific publications. “If this were a protest, the mob would have warned journalists to leave before setting the buildings on fire,” he said, noting that 26 to 27 media workers were stranded on The Daily Star rooftop as flames engulfed the building.

The editor also cited social media messages allegedly inciting attacks on journalists in their homes, painting a chilling picture of targeted violence against the press.

Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) defended its delayed response, stating that immediate action could have endangered lives. “The reason we could not go into action there was to ensure that no human life was lost,” said DMP Additional Commissioner Nazrul Islam.

The interim government, led by Muhammad Yunus, reported the arrest of nine individuals in connection with the attacks, which also targeted cultural organisations Chhayanaut and Udichi Shilpi Goshthi. The violence followed the death of radical right-wing youth leader Sharif Osman Hadi, a staunch critic of India and a key figure in last year’s pro-democracy uprising that ousted the Awami League government in August 2024. Hadi, 32, died in Singapore last Thursday while undergoing treatment and had been a candidate in the forthcoming February 12 general elections.

Attackers accused the newspapers of “serving the interests” of India and former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, while the interim government labelled the perpetrators as fringe elements. Rights groups and journalists, however, have criticised the authorities for failing to act despite repeated appeals for protection, highlighting the precarious position of the press in Bangladesh today.

With offices burned, journalists threatened, and social media used as a weapon of intimidation, Bangladesh’s media faces a grim reality: a struggle not just for words, but for survival itself.

With PTI inputs