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SCORES OF JOURNALISTS ATTACKED AFTER ELECTIONS

Journalists were the targets of numerous attacks in Bangladesh last week, following elections which saw a Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP)-led coalition sweep to power, reports Media Watch. As many as eight separate incidents involving attacks on individuals or groups of journalists were counted – at least four of which were perpetrated by members of the BNP's student wing Chattra Dal.

In one particular case, "Bangladesh Sangbad Sangbadsangtha" reporter Swapan Basu was severely beaten on 8 October at Dhaka University. He lost two teeth and was admitted to hospital, according to Media Watch. In a separate incident not involving Chattra Dal, Abdul Kashem Khan, vice president of Mirazapur Press Club in Tangail district, received death threats from members of the fundamentalist Jamat-e Islami party's student wing. Media Watch notes that no arrests have been made in connection with any of the eight reported incidents.

Meanwhile, Media Watch reports that on 10 October, the student wing of Jamat-e Islami, Chattra Shibir, issued a statement which openly threatened journalists. It read: "You, the journalists, have written enough against us. Now it is our time. Stop writing."
Jamat-e Islami, the largest Islamic political party in the country, is part of BNP's governing coalition. For more information, see IFEX "Communiqué" #10-39, #10-31, #10-29, #10-18 and #10-16.