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3 Bangladeshi journalists killed in quota protests as reporters attacked, internet blocked

Anti-quota protesters clash with police and supporters of the ruling Awami League supporters in the Rampura area of Dhaka, Bangladesh, on July 18, 2024. At least three journalists have been killed covering the protests. (Reuters/Mohammad Ponir Hossain) — Anti-quota protesters clash with Bangladesh police and supporters of the ruling Awami League party in the Rampura area of Dhaka, Bangladesh, on July 18, 2024. (Reuters/Mohammad Ponir Hossain)

CPJ has called on Bangladesh authorities to investigate the killings of journalists Hasan Mehedi, Md. Shakil Hossain, and Abu Taher Md Turab and other attacks on reporters covering deadly nationwide protests over government job quotas.

“CPJ is deeply disturbed by the killing of journalists Hasan Mehedi, Md. Shakil Hossain, and Abu Taher Md Turab while they were reporting on the quota protests in Bangladesh,” said CPJ Asia Program Coordinator Beh Lih Yi. “The Bangladesh government must hold to account those responsible for all assaults on journalists and fully restore internet and phone services to allow the free flow of information needed to cover matters of public interest.”

Bangladesh authorities imposed an internet shutdown and severely disrupted mobile services on July 18. Broadband internet was partially restored in limited areas on Tuesday evening, but mobile services and social media remained blocked as of July 26.

CPJ has confirmed attacks on at least 14 journalists and is continuing to investigate reports that dozens more have been assaulted either by police, protesters, or supporters of the Bangladesh Chhatra League, the student wing of the ruling Awami League party. Of the 14, several required hospital treatment for injuries including head wounds.

Haitian press face ‘existential crisis’ with no end to gang violence

Children accompany armed gang members in a march organised by former police officer Jimmy "Barbecue" Cherizier, leader of an alliance of armed groups, in the Delmas neighbourhood, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, May 10, 2024. Nearly half of the country's population is struggling to feed themselves due to the conflict, since the 2021 assassination of Haiti's last president, armed gangs have expanded their power and influence, taking over most of the capital and expanding to nearby farmlands. "If you are displaced or your family doesn't have a place to sleep, you may need to join armed groups just to cover your needs," said Save the Children Haiti food advisor Jules Roberto. REUTERS/Pedro Valtierra Anza SEARCH "ARDUENGO VALTIERRA HAITI HUNGER" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES. TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY - RC2RN8AJCNUV — Children accompany armed gang members during a march in Port-au-Prince, Haiti on May 10, 2024. (Photo: Reuters/Pedro Valtierra Anza)

Le Nouvelliste, Haiti’s oldest independent daily newspaper, has been around for 126 years, and the outlet’s owners are proud to have maintained its operations through the country’s intensifying challenges — from foreign occupation and devastating earthquakes to coups.

But now Le Nouvelliste’s survival — and that of more independent media outlets in the country — may be in grave danger after gang rule has descended the island nation into virtual lawlessness following the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse in 2021, writes David C. Adams.

Many media outlets have been forced to cut staff due to falling advertising and others say they are close to being forced out of business.

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The Committee to Protect Journalists promotes press freedom worldwide.

We defend the right of journalists to report the news safely and without fear of reprisal.

Journalists Attacked

Myat Thu Tan

MURDERED

Myat Thu Tan, a contributor to the local news website Western News and correspondent for several independent Myanmar news outlets, was shot and killed on January 31, 2024, while in military custody in Mrauk-U in Myanmar’s western Rakhine State.

He was arrested on September 22, 2022, and held in pre-trial detention under a broad provision of the penal code that criminalizes incitement and the dissemination of false news for critical posts he made on his Facebook page. Myat Thu Tan had not been tried or convicted at the time of his death.

The journalist’s body was found buried in a bomb shelter, with the bodies of six other political detainees, and showed signs of torture.

Myanmar’s military junta has cracked down on journalists and media outlets since seizing power in a February 2021 coup.

Learn more about Myat Thu Tan