Media Statement
The Rapid Response Taskforce strongly condemns the escalating attacks on journalists, cultural institutions, and civilians across Bangladesh, which reflect a deepening crisis of press freedom, public safety, and rule of law.
Arbitrary detention and legal harassment
RRT unequivocally denounces the arbitrary detention and filing of cases against journalist Anis Alamgir. Such actions constitute judicial harassment and are intended to intimidate the media into silence. Targeting journalists through abusive legal measures violates constitutional guarantees and Bangladesh’s international obligations on fundamental rights, including freedom of expression.
Killing, mob violence, and attacks on media, journalists, artists, and their professional centers are not accepted in democratic institutions.
We condemn the killing of Sharif Osman Hadi and the subsequent mob attacks that followed. The coordinated assaults on Prothom Alo, The Daily Star, Chhayanaut, and Udichi Shilpi Goshthi, including arson and vandalism, represent a direct attack on independent journalism and progressive cultural spaces.
RRT is alarmed that two women journalists of The Daily Star were physically harassed even after being rescued by the fire brigade from their torched workplace. Such targeted gendered violence against journalists is unacceptable and must be investigated immediately. We also condemn the harassment of senior journalist and public intellectual Nurul Kabir, an act that signals a dangerous intolerance for dissent and critical thought.
Mob terror and religious violence
We further condemn the brutal mob attack against Dipu Chandra Das, who was beaten and set on fire following false allegations of blasphemy. This heinous crime underscores the lethal consequences of impunity and the failure of authorities to prevent and stop mob violence.
Arson against civilians
RRT mourns the killing of a seven-year-old girl and condemns the arson attack in Lakshmipur Sadar upazila that left her father, Belal Hossain, a local BNP leader, and her two sisters with severe burn injuries. Attacks on homes and families are grave criminal acts and demand swift justice.
Our demands
- Ensure immediate, impartial, and independent investigations into all reported human rights violations, guaranteeing due process and timely prosecution of those responsible.
- Immediately halt arbitrary detention and judicial harassment of journalists, including the withdrawal of all fabricated and retaliatory cases against Anis Alamgir and fellow journalists.
- Adopt and enforce concrete protection mechanisms for journalists, with specific safeguards for women journalists, and ensure the safety and security of media houses, cultural spaces and institutions.
- Hold law enforcement agencies accountable for negligence and failure to act, and take decisive steps to end the prevailing culture of impunity that enables mob violence.
- Guarantee effective investigations and access to justice for victims and survivors, including adequate remedies, transparency in proceedings, and public disclosure of findings.
The Rapid Response Taskforce reiterates that attacks on journalists, artists, and civilians are attacks on democracy itself. We urge the authorities to act decisively, now, before further lives are lost and freedoms irreparably damaged.
* The RRTÂ consists of 13 members, representing a diverse group of individuals including women, ethnic and religious minorities, youth, activists, lawyers, academicians, gender diverse activists and representatives from civil society organizations formed by right-based advocacy organization, Voices for Interactive Choice and Empowerment (VOICE).