PEC condemns murder of scribe, attacks on Bangladesh newspapers
Geneva: Expressing serious concern over the volatile situation in Bangladesh following the murder of a young leader, the global media safety and rights body Press Emblem Campaign (PEC) urged the caretaker government in Dhaka to ensure safety and security for the media fraternity across the South Asian country.
Condemning the incidents in which digital media editor Imdadul Haque Milon (45) was killed and an unruly mob attacked two newspaper offices (Prothom Alo and The Daily Star) in the capital city on Thursday night, the PEC also condemned the physical attackers of New Age editor Nurul Kabir, who, along with other media professionals, tried to stop the vandals.
Milon, who used to work for the online news portal Bartaman Somoy, was targeted by four motorcycle-borne armed men at Shalua Market on the evening of 18 December.
Seriously injured, Milon was rushed to Khulna Medical College Hospital, where the Shalua Press Club office bearer was declared dead on arrival by the attending doctors.
He is the 163rd journalist victim globally and the fifth casualty in Bangladesh this year after Assaduzzaman Tuhin, Bibhuranjan Sarkar, Wahed-uz-Zaman Bulu, and Khandahar Shah Alam.
"We condemn the shooting of journalist Imdadul Haque Milon. Moreover, the midnight vandalism and arson attacks on the Dhaka-based prominent Bengali daily Prothom Alo and the acclaimed English newspaper The Daily Star, when many employees including journalists were still working, are horrific and deserve to be denounced in the strongest terms. Both dailies were unable to publish their Friday editions,” said Blaise Lempen, president of PEC (pressemblem.ch), adding that these acts should be termed an assault on press freedom, which the government must protect as the Muslim-majority nation prepares for the general election on 12 February 2026.
PEC’s South and Southeast Asian representative, Nava Thakuria, informed that unprecedented violence broke out in the country soon after interim government chief Professor Muhammad Yunus confirmed the demise of Inquilab Mancha spokesperson Sharif Osman Hadi in Singapore, where he had been airlifted for advanced treatment following a bullet injury in Dhaka.
Hadi had come to public notice during the student-led mass uprising last year, which ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, forcing the Awami League leader to seek shelter in neighboring India. Meanwhile, Prof. Yunus spoke with both editors and assured them of support and security assistance.