Blood on press cards: journalists attacked in Dhaka by Jamaat activists

Sanjoy Kumar Barua

A journalist stands wounded, his face smeared with blood, his press identity card held aloft before the camera after being attacked while carrying out his duties.

Minutes earlier, he had been covering a political procession in Dhaka’s Dhanmondi area, performing a task fundamental to any free press: documenting events in the public interest.

By the end of the morning, he had become part of the story he was sent to report.

Several journalists were assaulted on Tuesday by activists of Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami, the Islamist party that opposed Bangladesh’s independence during the 1971 Liberation War, according to witnesses and journalists present at the scene.

Among those injured was Mahfujur Rahman, a multimedia journalist for Dainik Sokal, who suffered severe nasal bleeding and injuries to his left hand after allegedly being attacked while covering a Jamaat procession.

The violence erupted at approximately 8:45 a.m. during a programme organised by Jamaat’s Dhaka South City unit to counter events marking the founding anniversary of the Awami League.

Witnesses said journalists carrying cameras, microphones and visible press credentials suddenly found themselves at the centre of a violent confrontation.

What should have been a routine reporting assignment rapidly descended into scenes of fear, violence and bloodshed.

Rahman was rushed to Gonoshasthaya Nagar Hospital for emergency treatment.

A journalist present at the scene, who declined to be named due to safety concerns, said reporters had clearly identified themselves as members of the press.

“Most of us were carrying cameras and press cards,” the journalist said. “Despite that, several journalists were assaulted while covering the procession.”

“The attack has renewed concerns about the safety of journalists reporting on political developments across the country,” he added.

Several journalists alleged that police officers were present when the attack occurred.

Yet when contacted by reporters, Dhanmondi Police Station Officer-in-Charge Saiful Islam said he was unaware of the incident.

The attack has raised urgent questions about how journalists were assaulted in broad daylight in a central area of Dhaka, why no immediate arrests followed, and whether law enforcement failed to intervene.

Mujibur Rahman Khan, a working committee member of Jamaat’s Dhanmondi Thana unit, sought to distance the party from responsibility. He described the attack as “unexpected” and suggested that outsiders who had infiltrated the programme may have carried out the violence.

Journalists who witnessed the incident disputed that explanation.

The attack comes as Jamaat-e-Islami seeks to expand its political footprint following recent political changes.

The party’s history remains deeply intertwined with one of the most painful and disputed chapters in Bangladesh’s national memory.

During the Liberation War of 1971, Jamaat opposed Bangladesh’s struggle for independence and aligned itself against the movement that ultimately gave birth to the nation.

For decades, that position has remained a defining feature of the party’s public image.

Several senior Jamaat leaders were later convicted by Bangladesh’s International Crimes Tribunal over atrocities committed during the war. Some were subsequently executed after years of legal proceedings.

Jamaat rejected the tribunal’s rulings and maintained that the trials were politically motivated.

The party’s wartime legacy continues to shape public perception and political debate across Bangladesh.

In recent months, Jamaat has re-emerged as an increasingly influential political force following the political upheaval that followed the fall of Sheikh Hasina’s government in August 2024.