UN calls for justice after attacks on media during Bangladesh protests – JURIST

UN experts and rights organizations on Tuesday raised alarm over coordinated attacks on journalists, media outlets, and cultural institutions in Bangladesh following the assassination of youth leader Sharif Osman Hadi, describing the violence as a serious threat to freedom of expression and democratic participation ahead of the February 2026 parliamentary elections.

Hadi, 32, a key figure of the 2024 student-led uprising that ousted former prime minister Sheikh Hasina, was shot in broad daylight in Dhaka on December 12 while launching his campaign for parliament. He died a week later in a Singapore hospital. Hadi was a spokesperson for the “Platform for Revolution” and a prominent critic of alleged Indian influence in domestic politics, reflecting ongoing divisions following the July 2024 protests over civil service quotas favoring descendants of 1971 war veterans.

His killing sparked widespread protests, during which mobs attacked the offices of two of the country’s leading newspapers, Prothom Alo and The Daily Star, and cultural organization Chhayanaut. Human Rights Watch reported that journalists were trapped inside burning buildings, and some received explicit death threats on social media.

Bangladesh’s interim government, led by Muhammad Yunus, deployed police and paramilitary forces to prevent further violence and declared a day of mourning for Hadi. Despite arrests of several suspects, editors warn that threats against journalists have escalated into what they describe as a “fight for survival.” Journalists have faced online messages explicitly calling for them to be hunted down and killed in their homes.

The attacks follow a long history of political upheaval in Bangladesh. This year former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has been formally charged with inciting violence during the 2024 protests. 

Bangladesh has binding obligations under its Constitution and Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights to protect freedom of expression, personal security, and democratic space.

Calls for violence to end and a peaceful resolution by UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk have so far not been met.