Statement cites Rajshahi University attack and calls for exemplary action against those responsible

The Editors’ Council today expressed deep concern over and strongly condemned recent attacks, threats and harassment targeting journalists across Bangladesh, calling for prompt and impartial investigations and exemplary action against those responsible.
In a statement signed by President Nurul Kabir and General Secretary Dewan Hanif Mahmud, the council described the October 4 attack on journalists at Rajshahi University as “extremely concerning”.
It said media reports showed that at least 10 people, including four journalists, were injured in the incident. The journalists were not acting on behalf of any side, it added, but were gathering information and reporting in the public interest.
The council said disagreement with any report, opinion or a journalist's professional work could never justify an attack, threat or obstruction.
"An attack on a journalist is not merely an attack on a professional; it is an attack on independent journalism, freedom of expression and the people's right to know," the statement said.
While welcoming the filing of a case and the move to investigate the Rajshahi University incident, the council said the investigation must be impartial, credible and evidence-based, and that those involved must be brought to justice regardless of their political or organisational identities.
The council placed five demands.
First, it called for prompt and impartial investigations into all recent attacks, threats and harassment against journalists.
Second, it demanded exemplary legal action against those involved, regardless of their identities or political affiliations.
Third, it called for a safe working environment for journalists covering political programmes, university events, court proceedings, administrative offices and other public gatherings.
Fourth, it called for an immediate end to obstruction, intimidation and harassment of journalists while they perform their professional duties.
Lastly, it urged political parties, their affiliated organisations and all other parties to make clear commitments to journalists' safety and independent journalism.
Journalists' safety, the council said, was not a special privilege but an essential condition for a free, democratic and accountable society. Independent journalism cannot function in an atmosphere of fear, threats and violence, it said.
It urged the government, law enforcement agencies, political parties, educational institutions and all other concerned parties to take prompt, visible and lawful action over every attack on journalists, and called for effective measures to prevent such incidents in future.