The Committee to Protect Journalists, an independent watchdog body, has called on Bangladesh authorities to investigate police attacks on journalists during recent demonstrations against Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the country.
Ten people were killed over two days of protests during which police fired tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse protestors, hitting and injuring journalists covering the demonstrations, according to news reports.
On March 25 and 26, in Dhaka, the capital, members of the Chhatra League, the youth wing of the ruling Awami League political party, attacked people demonstrating against Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Bangladesh, and used sticks to beat journalists covering the protests
At least 17 journalists were injured by police or demonstrators, according to data shared with CPJ by the Drik Picture Library, a local advocacy group and multimedia services provider.
Read more: At least 5 killed in Bangladesh as anti-Modi protests turn violent
“Police in Bangladesh must immediately end their outrageous attacks on journalists covering protests, and should protect them from abuse rather than inflicting it themselves,” said Steven Butler, CPJ’s Asia programme coordinator.
“These blatant attacks on press freedom undermine a key pillar of the country’s democracy,” he said
According to the data shared with CPJ, the majority of the injured journalists were photographers.
Police in Bangladesh must immediately end their outrageous attacks on journalists covering protests,” said @CPJAsia's @StevenBButler. “These blatant attacks on press freedom undermine a key pillar of the country’s democracy.”https://t.co/AecigXQipm
— Committee to Protect Journalists (@pressfreedom) March 29, 2021
Demonstrators and police officers hit journalists with the butt of a pistol, sticks, iron rods, stones, and bricks, and journalists were shot with rubber bullets, according to that data, which stated that they sustained injuries including bruises, swelling, bleeding, broken bones, a dislocated shoulder, and a cracked skull.
CPJ emailed the Bangladeshi national police headquarters for comment but did not receive any replies.
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Access to Facebook was also blocked during the demonstrations, according to reports, which stated that the Bangladesh government did not comment on whether it had ordered those restrictions.
Courtesy: APP