Report in The Daily Star, Oct 7, 2023
Bangladesh authorities must immediately and impartially investigate the attack on journalist Mosharraf Shah and hold the perpetrators accountable, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) said on Friday.
CPJ said this in an article published on its website.
Referring to a statement by “Bangladeshi Journalists in International Media” and the journalist, CPJ said Mosharraf, a reporter of the daily Prothom Alo, was severely beaten by 15 to 20 men on Chittagong University campus on September 24.
Mosharraf, a fourth-year student of communication and journalism, published reports in the Prothom Alo on factional clashes within the university unit of Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL), the student wing of the ruling Awami League.
The attackers repeatedly warned him not to write about BCL, which subsequently dissolved its CU unit.
The severe beating of Mosharraf, which appears to have been carried out by members of BCL, reflects a worryingly familiar pattern of violence, said Beh Lih Yi, CPJ’s Asia programme coordinator.
“Police must swiftly hold the perpetrators of this attack to account and end the inaction on the Chhatra League’s attacks on the press,” she said.
Government and the university authorities must ensure Mosharraf’s safe return to campus so that he can continue journalism without fear of reprisal, she added.
CPJ said it has documented “numerous unprosecuted attacks on journalists by those associated with BCL”.
According to CPJ, Mosharraf identified six of his attackers in his September 28 statement to the university, but no one had been arrested or faced action by the university.
Chittagong Police Superintendent SM Shafiullah told CPJ that an investigation was underway, and a police officer had spoken with Mosharraf about the incident.
However, Mosharraf told CPJ that police had not contacted him as of Friday.
https://www.thedailystar.net/news/bangladesh/rights/news/bcl-attack-p-alo-journo-cpj-demands-impartial-probe-3436566
