The offices of two independent newspapers in Bangladesh were attacked last night and burnt as news spread over the death of activist Sharif Osman Hadi in a Singapore hospital.
Hadi was shot at by motorcycle borne individuals on Dec 12, and after initial treatment in Dhaka, was rushed to Singapore where he succumbed.
What is the connection between Hadi’s death and the targeting of the two newspaper offices, Prothom Alo and Daily Star, is not clear, but activists in Dhaka said the attacks appeared premeditated and intended to destabilise the country.
In an online statement, Prothom Alo described the attack as “deliberate and organised. In the face of this terrorist attack, Prothom Alo employees were left completely unprotected and their lives were put at serious risk. The attackers extensively vandalised the office building and then set it on fire. Due to the prolonged blaze, the building was gutted and the assets and valuable documents stored there were reduced to ashes.”
The Daily Star headlined the attack on its office as “A Dark Day for Independent Journalism.”
“Our colleagues, trapped on the roof, feared for their lives as a mob vandalised one floor after another and set fire to the lower floors. Although at one point it became difficult for them to breathe because of the smoke, no one has been hurt and everyone has returned home safe thanks to the efforts of the fire service, police and army.”
But as the paper underscored “They can burn our office but not our resolve.”
Who carried out the attack on both media is not clear at this point but prominent citizens called for the resignation of the adviser to the Home Ministry.
Supreme Court advocate Sara Hussein said the attacks on the newspapers were not merely assaults on buildings but represented an attempt to suppress independent journalism and stifle democratic voices in the country.
She described the incident as an extreme manifestation of mob violence or taking the law into one’s own hands.
More violence is expected when Osman Hadi’s body is brought back.
