1 July 2004
VETERAN JOURNALIST ASSASSINATED
The southwestern city of Khulna in Bangladesh has been dubbed the "valley of death" by local journalists for a good reason. On 27 June 2004, Humayun Kabir, editor of the daily newspaper "Janmabhumi," died after assailants threw bombs at his home, becoming the sixth journalist in four years to be killed there because of his work, says the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ)
Kabir was killed after an unidentified assailant hurled two bombs at him while he and his family were exiting their car, according to CPJ. Kabir's son, Asif, suffered minor injuries. A faction of the Purbo Banglar Communist Party called Janajuddha (People's War), claimed responsibility for the murder. Police have detained nine suspects.
CPJ and Reporters Without Borders (Reporters sans frontières, RSF) have called for an investigation into the murder and for those responsible to be brought to justice.
Kabir was an experienced reporter who was known for criticising organised crime in Khulna, notes CPJ. He had recently been receiving death threats.
Earlier this year, Janajuddha claimed responsibility for the murder of veteran reporter Manik Saha, who was killed in a bomb attack on 15 January 2004. Although 12 people have been charged for his murder, local journalists say those who ordered the assassination are unlikely to be prosecuted.
Four other journalists have been murdered in Khulna since 2000 - Harunur Rashid, Nahar Ali, Mir Illias Hossain and Shamsur Rahman. No one has been charged in any of the murders.
Visit these links:
- CPJ:
http://www.cpj.org/news/2004/Bangla28june04na.html- CPJ Report on Bangladesh:
http://www.cpj.org/attacks03/asia03/bangla.html- RSF:
http://www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=10150