Tales of journos facing torture

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Dhaka

TUESDAY, 15 MARCH 2011

Dhaka, Mar 14: In the year 2010, some 350 media professionals were victims of torture, with five of them even killed brutally, while 124 were tortured when performing their professional duty, 112 as a consequence of report-publishing, and 99 were victims of myriad enmities. In the face of the myriad torture incidents and killings, the journalists’ ink never stopped writing and telling the truth, even for a moment. The study was compiled from the reports published in the different national daily newspapers with the help of Mass-Line Media Centre, a media sector non-government organisation.
Month-by-month breakdown, 2010
January: Some 16 reporters were victims of torture in 13 separate incidents. Among them, three received death threats, one was threatened of dire consequences while two were attacked, two beaten up, two sued, one assaulted and received the threat of having his hand chopped off, and five journalists were incarcerated in Dhamrai of Dhaka and Sylhet.
February: A total of 35 media professionals were tortured in 16 different incidents. Of them, five received death threats, two were threatened of dire consequences while 16 were assailed in various ways. Another one was sued, and 11 were victims of torture.
March: Some 34 journalists were victims in 21 incidents. Five were beaten up, four were injured in attacks, seven were given death threats, three got normal threats while seven were sued, and eight were assaulted.
April: In 16 occurrences, terrorists tortured 29 reporters and killed one. Foteh Osmani, Sylhet correspondent of Saptahik 2000, succumbed to injuries after 11 days of terrorists’ torture while Fatema, a child journalist of Shisu Prakas published by MMC, was kidnapped in Shariatpur. Six others were attacked, three were beaten up and five were warned with death threats added to threats to 13 journalists by Shamim Osman of Narayanganj.
May: 43 media workers were victims of terrorists’ torture in 27 separate incidents. Three were warned with death threats, 13 were assailed and attacked, eight sued and one was arrested in a false case. 11 journalists were assaulted, three were threatened of dire consequences and one disappeared and was later found dead. Shafiqul Islam Mithu, senior cameraman of ATN Bangla, went missing for a couple of days on his way home from the workplace and was later found dead in Turag area of the capital city.
June: 23 victims in 13 occurrences; eight were attacked, four assaulted, five sent to custody, three beaten up, two threatened to death and one was kidnapped.
July: 19 were victimised in 11 incidents; of the total, one was killed. Rafiqul Haque Rasel, senior video editor of Bangla Vision, was bafflingly killed in Dhaka. Five were attacked and three were threatened with death, while two were assaulted, one was kidnapped, one remained missing and three were sued in defamation cases, and warrant was issued against three.
August: 20 media workers were victimised in 11 incidents. Of them, eight were threatened with death while nine were attacked, one was assaulted, one was sent to jail and one was found dead. MA Hasan, Khulna bureau chief of mytv, was found dead in Munshiganj.
September: 22 journalists were victims of 22 occurrences. Seven were sued in different cases while one was sent to jail in a case, six attacked by terrorists, one was beaten up, four were assaulted, two were threatened of dire consequences and one received death threat.
October: 41 journalists were victimised in 15 incidents; 10 were assaulted, while 16 sued in different cases, eight were attacked by the terrorists, five were threatened of dreadful costs and one was kidnapped while one received a death threat.
November: 36 journalists were tortured in 13 separate incidences. 29 were victims of torture and beatings-up while four were assaulted, one was beaten up by the police at Farmgate in the capital and sued and two were sued by ruling party activists in Rangunia of Chittagong.
December: 22 media workers were victimised in separate incidents. 11 journalists of Jagannath University (JnU) were injured as being attacked by the police at the office of JnU Journalists’ Association while four were assaulted by Chhattra League cadres at Jahangirnagar University, one was threatened with death, one was warned by Chhattra League leader for publishing photographed news, two were beaten up in Dhaka and Chittagong and two including editor of Kaler Kantha were sued by district vice-president of the Awami League’s Rangamati unit and one was killed. Monir Hossain Raree, upazila correspondent of Daily Matabad was killed in a sequel to previous enmity.