Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami has condemned and protested the attacks on journalists working in Dhaka-based media outlets in front of Dream Holiday Park in Narsingdi over refusal to pay extortion money.
In a statement issued, Jamaat Assistant Secretary General Advocate Ahsanul Mahboob Zubair said members of the Crime Reporters Association of Bangladesh (CRAB) were returning from a picnic with their family members at Dream Holiday Park on Monday evening when local miscreants demanded extortion money.
As the journalists protested, an altercation ensued and the attackers later assaulted them with local weapons.
A total of 10 people, including journalists Md Mohsin Kabir, Mohammad Shahed, S M Foyez and CRAB staff Lal, were injured in the attack.
Calling the incident heinous and barbaric, Zubair, also Jamaat’s Central Publicity and Media Department Chief, said that such an attack on professional journalists for extortion purposes is a direct assault on free journalism and press freedom.
He added that the extortionists were trying to silence journalists, which cannot be accepted in any way.
He demanded immediate identification and arrest of those involved in the attack and exemplary punishment for them.
Zubair also urged the authorities concerned to ensure proper treatment and security for the injured journalists.
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