Dhaka: Sajjad Sharif, executive editor of one of Bangladesh’s leading newspapers, Prothom Alo, has called Thursday night’s attack on media houses “a direct assault on freedom of speech” in the country.
Calling it the “darkest night” for journalism in the country’s history, Sharif claimed that the attack forced the newspaper to halt print publication for the first time in 27 years, since its establishment in 1998.
The attack on leading media outlets came after Inquilab Mancha spokesperson Sharif Osman Bin Hadi, who was shot in Dhaka on December 12, died at a hospital in Singapore.
One of those who led the controversial July Uprising of 2024 that led to the ouster of Bangladeshi prime minister Sheikh Hasina, Hadi had a radical and anti-India mindset.
Speaking to ANI, Sharif said that the “miscreants” also attacked another media outlet, the Daily Star, in the same area. Hadi’s killing had sparked anger across society, which was allegedly diverted by miscreants towards media organisations.
Incidentally, the July Uprising had also begun as a student movement, till radical elements took over.
“Our (media) house was vandalised by some miscreants. Yesterday night, while our journalists were working for the next day newspaper and online, a sad thing happened in the evening. One of the steerers of last year’s uprising, Sharif Osman Hadi, was unfortunately killed by someone, and he died yesterday. There was anger in the society,” Sharif told the news agency.
“The miscreants steered the anger to demolish newspapers. They attacked us, and our journalists were scared to death. They had to flee the office. We couldn’t publish our newspaper today, and our online was off since last night. And since its establishment in 1998, in 27 years, it’s the first time we haven’t published our newspaper. I would say it is the darkest night for newspapers. And it’s an attack on our freedom of speech and freedom of the news media,” Sharif added.
He also urged Bangladesh’s interim government to conduct a thorough investigation into the incident and ensure accountability.
“We urge the government to conduct a proper investigation to find out the miscreants and bring them under the law. We are asking for our government to do that,” he stated.
After news of Hadi’s death spread, protests broke out in the capital of Dhaka and other cities in the country. A fresh wave of protests broke out on Friday as the activists gathered at Dhaka’s Shahbagh intersection to call for justice.
Hadi was also being considered as a potential Dhaka-8 candidate for the general elections to be held in the country on February 12, 2026.
Chief Adviser of the interim government of Bangladesh, Muhammad Yunus, condemned the violence on the media outlets and expressed his support for journalists.
“To the journalists of The Daily Star, Prothom Alo, and New Age: we stand with you. We are deeply sorry for the terror and violence you have endured. The nation has witnessed your courage and tolerance in the face of terror. Attacks on journalists are attacks on truth itself. We promise you full justice,” he said in a statement.
