23 November 2005
JOURNALIST STRANGLED TO DEATH
IFEX members have called for an investigation into the death of Bangladeshi journalist Gautam Das, who was found strangled to death in his office in Faridpur on 17 November 2005.
Das' body was found on the floor of his office, with fractured legs and hands and a nylon rope tied around his neck, reported Media Watch.
It is not known whether Das was killed because of his work, but colleagues said he had recently been reporting on the activities of militant Islamic groups.
Das, 28, was the Faridpur bureau chief and staff correspondent for the daily newspaper "Samakal".
His murder was condemned by Media Watch, International PEN, the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), Reporters Without Borders (Reporters sans frontières, RSF) and the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ).
Bangladesh is widely considered one of the world's most dangerous countries for journalists. According to CPJ, nine journalists have been killed there since 2000. RSF notes that in 2004, 96 journalists were physically attacked, and 175 threatened.
Visit these links:
- Media Watch Alert: http://www.ifex.org/en/content/view/full/70533/
- IFJ: http://www.ifj.org/default.asp?Index=3548&Language=EN
- RSF: http://www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=15646
- CPJ Report on Bangladesh: http://www.cpj.org/attacks04/asia04/bangla.html
- CPJ on Bangladesh's Culture of Violence: http://www.cpj.org/Briefings/2004/DA_spring04/%20DA_summer_04.pdf
- International PEN: http://www.internationalpen.org.uk/index.php?pid=33&aid=407
- International Press Institute Report: http://www.freemedia.at/wpfr/Asia/banglade.htm
- Freedom House: http://tinyurl.com/e4n8k
- IFEX Alerts on Bangladesh: http://www.ifex.org/en/content/view/full/143/
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