New York, June 18, 2012–Bangladeshi authorities must immediately investigate the murder of a journalist on late Friday night and bring the perpetrators to justice, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.
Unidentified assailants armed with sharp weapons attacked Jamal Uddin, a reporter for the Bengali-language daily Gramer Kagoj, at a tea stall in Jessore district, according to local and international news reports. The journalist was hospitalized with multiple severe injuries and died later that night, the reports said.
Police told local journalists that the murder was probably related to the death threats Uddin had received after reporting on the local criminal drug trade a few months ago, according to news reports. CPJ reported Thursday on the worsening environment for journalists in Bangladesh.
“We are deeply concerned to learn that police are linking Jamal Uddin’s violent death to his reporting on the illegal drug trade, and we urge them to bring the perpetrators to justice,” said CPJ Deputy Director Robert Mahoney. “Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina must condemn this shocking act and commit publicly to investigating the recent spike in attacks on the press.”
Bangladesh has featured in the past on CPJ’s Impunity Index, which spotlights countries where journalists are murdered regularly and killers go free.