The Urban Development Journalists Forum Bangladesh (UDJFB) has strongly condemned the hostage-taking, torture and death threats against three journalists, including Dhaka Tribune reporter Rabiul Hasan, who were attacked while investigating drug trafficking in Tongi, Gazipur.
Rabiul Hasan is a member of the UDJFB. The other two journalists targeted in the attack were reporter Asiful Islam Rifat and photojournalist Abir Ahmed Shupto.
In a joint statement issued on Thursday, UDJFB President Matin Abdullah and General Secretary Hasan Emon condemned the incident and demanded the immediate arrest and exemplary punishment of those responsible.
According to the statement, the three journalists went to Haji Mazar slum, under Tongi West police station, on November 6 to investigate drug trafficking as part of their professional duties. They spent around one and a half hours at the location, gathering evidence and recording video footage of alleged drug transactions.
At one stage, a group of 20 to 25 armed alleged drug traders, who had been monitoring their movements through CCTV cameras, attacked the journalists.
The attackers allegedly pointed pistols at their heads, threatened to mutilate them with sharp weapons and snatched Rabiul Hasan's mobile phone before deleting all the evidence and information they had collected.
The journalists were then taken to a nearby location and held captive for around three hours. During this time, they were brutally beaten and allegedly subjected to an attempt on their lives through gunfire.
The attackers also allegedly forced the journalists to consume a sedative and recorded videos with money and drugs placed in front of them, apparently to use the footage for blackmail.
They were eventually released after being threatened with death and warned against publishing reports on the group's drug trade and other criminal activities, the statement said.
The injured journalists subsequently received medical treatment at Shaheed Ahsan Ullah Master General Hospital in Tongi.
Expressing grave concern over repeated attacks on journalists at a location it described as a haven for criminals, the forum said such acts of violence and intimidation were aimed at silencing independent and investigative journalism.
The UDJFB said attempts by organised criminal groups to suppress factual reporting and intimidate journalists through violence threatened not only press freedom but also democratic values and freedom of expression.
The forum said the local administration and law enforcement agencies could not evade responsibility for the attack on the three journalists.
It called for an immediate crackdown in Haji Mazar slum and surrounding areas to arrest the alleged masterminds and armed attackers and bring them to justice.
The forum also urged the relevant authorities to ensure adequate security for the three journalists.
The statement was signed by Latiful Islam, office secretary of the Urban Development Journalists Forum Bangladesh (UDJFB).
