report in The Daily Star, Aug 15, 2023
Four journalists, covering the news of war criminal Delawar Hossain Sayedee’s death, were injured in an attack by a mob in front of the Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University yesterday.
Jamuna TV’s senior reporter Shawkat Manjur Shanto, cameraperson Bishwanath Sarker, RTV’s reporter Sheikh Farid and cameraperson Md Manik were wounded.
People started gathering at the premises of the D-block of BSMMU since 9:00pm, minutes after Sayedee’s death.
Leaders and activists of Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami were seen there. They were chanting slogans.
Around 11:10pm, this correspondent saw some people looking for journalists from certain TV stations who had said in their reports that Sayedee was a war criminal.
Several journalists left seeing the aggression of the people there.
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Around 11:30pm, they attacked the four journalists.
“We don’t know what was happening there. We just reached the place and our cameraperson was preparing the camera for taking footage,” said Shanto.
He said, “… We saw some people beating up an RTV cameraperson. Our cameraperson was taking the footage, and they attacked him too.
“When I tried to save my cameraperson, they attacked me as well. I heard them ask in anger why we called Sayedee a war criminal.”
Farid told The Daily Star that when they were entering the BSMMU through Gate-5, some people in the crowd yelled “get them, they are from RTV”.
“Later, some people approached us and asked why we wrote that Sayedee is a war criminal. They tried to snatch our camera. They hit both of us. Manik was injured severely and got admitted to the hospital.”
https://www.thedailystar.net/news/bangladesh/crime-justice/news/four-journos-attacked-while-reporting-sayedees-death-3394706
