Rights group calls for action over police assault on journalist in Bangladesh
Paris, Aug 18 (IANS) A leading international human rights organisation on Tuesday strongly condemned the recent assault of a journalist in Bangladesh, allegedly by police officers inside a police van in Dhaka after he reportedly filmed the officers assaulting a woman in the capital’s Bijoy Sarani intersection.
Citing local media reports, Justice Makers Bangladesh in France (JMBF) said that the incident occurred earlier this month , while Bulbul Hossain,a reporter with Bangladeshi media outlet Global Television was travelling to cover a clash between Islami Chhatra Shibir, the student wing of Jamaat-e-Islami and workers of Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP).
Criticising the incident , the JMBF said, “Any assault on a journalist for documenting the conduct of law-enforcement officials represents a direct threat to freedom of the press, freedom of expression, accountability of law-enforcement agencies, and the public’s right to information. The reported assault on the unidentified woman must also be independently investigated.”
“The incident raises serious concerns under the Constitution of Bangladesh and Bangladesh’s international human rights obligations, including protections against cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment and guarantees relating to freedom of expression and media freedom,” it noted.
Speaking to Bangladeshi daily Dhaka Tribune following the incident, Bulbul said that several police officers assaulted a woman who had approached a police van near the Bijoy Sarani intersection during the clashes between Shibir and BNP workers.
He said that he began filming the incident in the course of his professional duties. The officers allegedly ordered him to delete the footage. After he refused, they forcibly took him into the police van and assaulted him despite identifying himself as a journalist.
Bulbul has reportedly lodged a written complaint with the Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) commissioner, demanding legal and departmental action against the officers involved.
According to his complaint, the officers repeatedly hit him on the head, threw him to the floor of the van and continued beating him. He also said that one officer placed a boot on his chest and tried to suffocate him.
Bulbul was subsequently taken to Dhaka Medical College Hospital, where doctors revealed injuries to his head, eye and chest.
Raising alarm over the assault on the journalist, JMBF called on the government of Bangladesh and the relevant law-enforcement authorities to ensure that Bulbul ‘s complaint is investigated promptly, independently, impartially, and transparently, and that all officers found responsible are held accountable in accordance with the law.
–IANS
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