Bangladeshi Journalists in International Media (BJIM) has condemned the violent attack on journalists and students at Rajshahi University allegedly by leaders and activists of the university unit of Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal (JCD) on Sunday.
At least 10 people were injured, including four campus journalists – Zahidul Islam of Agamir Shomoy, Nur Ahsan Mridul of The Daily Star, Arifuzzaman Qorban of bdnews24.com and Mainul Islam Raju of Samakal, BJIM said in a statement on Monday.
Video footage, accounts from journalists present at the scene and reports by the affected news organisations documented journalists being physically assaulted while covering events outside Shaheed Ziaur Rahman Hall, a residential hall on the campus, it said.
BJIM said this was not simply a campus clash, as journalists were attacked while doing their jobs of observing, recording and documenting events in the public interest.
“An attack on reporters for documenting violence is an attack on press freedom and the public’s right to know,” it said.
The organisation said it was particularly alarmed by accounts that journalists attempting to film the incident or protect colleagues already under attack were themselves assaulted and threatened.
Attempts to beat reporters, seize their phones or prevent them from recording, it said, were attempts to suppress evidence and control what the public was allowed to see.
BJIM said campus journalists occupy an indispensable but uniquely vulnerable place in Bangladesh’s media landscape. They are often the first reporters present when violence erupts, students protest or political groups seek to exert influence over campus life.
Their vulnerability is compounded by the fact that they often live and study alongside the people and organisations they cover.
The organisation warned against repeating the political violence and impunity seen on university campuses in the past, including attacks on journalists and students allegedly involving Bangladesh Chhatra League activists.
The BCL, the student wing of the Awami League, was banned by the interim government under the Anti-Terrorism Act in October 2024 over alleged violence and abuses, including attacks during the July 2024 uprising.
“That history cannot be allowed to repeat itself under a different political banner,” BJIM said.
It welcomed JCD’s announcement of an internal investigation but said this could not replace an independent criminal investigation or university disciplinary proceedings.
BJIM urged the university administration and law-enforcement agencies to conduct a prompt and impartial investigation, ensure the safety of journalists and witnesses, preserve evidence and take appropriate action against those found responsible.
It also called on the JCD and BNP leadership to make clear that violence against journalists would carry consequences regardless of political influence.
“Press freedom cannot depend on who holds power, who commands the streets, or whose actions a journalist is documenting,” it said.