Intelligence businesses intimidated journalists throughout July rebellion in Bangladesh: UN – Bd24live

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Journalists have been intimidated by Bangladesh’s intelligence businesses, together with DGFI and NSI brokers, to chorus them from reporting on the July rebellion, in response to a latest report of the United Nations (UN) rights workplace.

It additionally revealed how the journalists have been victims of safety forces indiscriminately firing at protesters in the course of the student-led motion.

“Ministry of Info officers and DGFI and NSI brokers, together with senior officers from the Ministry and DGFI, intimidated editors and journalists by calling them, coming to their places of work and personal properties and demanding modifications to their reporting and broadcasting,” stated the report of the Workplace of the UN Excessive Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).

The Workplace of the OHCHR launched its Reality-Discovering Report titled “Human Rights Violations and Abuses associated to the Protests of July and August 2024 in Bangladesh” from its Geneva workplace on February 12.

The report confirmed the authorities violated the rights to freedom of expression and media indiscriminately by intimidating and arresting journalists.

“Journalists testified a few common local weather of intimidation and stress from media house owners near the Awami League who didn’t enable them to freely report on the protests or the Authorities’s use of drive to suppress them.”

As a substitute, the report stated, some media shops revealed misinformation that seems to have been fabricated and unfold by intelligence and different authorities officers.

In a single case, RAB officers raided a media outlet, assaulted workers and tried to drive them at gunpoint to determine a journalist who obtained data exposing severe violations by army officers.

NSI brokers issued threats in opposition to that media outlet to make sure that this data was not revealed, in response to the fact-finding report.

Through the July rebellion from 15 July and 5 August 2024, no less than six journalists have been killed at or round protests in Dhaka, Sylhet and Sirajganj, whereas about 200 journalists have been injured.

The primary-hand testimony obtained by the discovered that journalists have been victims of safety forces’ indiscriminate firing at protesters, whereas they have been typically instantly focused with violence on account of train of their career.

Photojournalists have been particularly topic to aggressions by totally different actors, who didn’t want their involvement in occasions to be recorded.

On July 18, a journalist was shot and killed by police whereas he was protecting protests in Jatrabari.

On July 19 in Sylhet, police fired shotguns loaded with deadly ammunition at a BNP rally. A few of the protesters defended themselves with their flag poles and bricks in response. Amongst these shot and killed by the police was a journalist who was taking pictures on the protest.

Additionally on 19 July, round Elephant Highway in Dhaka, police warned a photojournalist that, if he saved taking pictures, he could be shot.

A couple of minutes later, in the identical space, a number of law enforcement officials fired shotguns loaded with deadly steel pellets at one other journalist who was holding a microphone whereas he stood subsequent to his cameraman. Steel shot injured him within the neck and limbs.

The identical day in Paltan, a journalist was injured by steel shot when police fired with out warning at protesters, the UN report stated.