|
|
 |
 |
| Sunday, 7 March 2004 |
 |
|
 |
World |  |
| News Business Features Editorial
|
CPJ finds Bangladesh most dangerous for newsmen DHAKA, March 6 (Reuters) - Bangladesh is the most dangerous place in Asia to be a newsman, the U.S.-based Committee to Protect Journalists has said, urging the government to vigorously investigate and prosecute attacks on journalists. "Physical assaults and intimidation are almost commonplace, particularly in rural areas, where journalists are threatened, beaten severely and even murdered just for reporting the news," the CPJ said in a statement issued in New York on Friday. There was no immediate official reaction to the statement. "It takes courage to be a journalist in Bangladesh," the statement quoted the CPJ's executive director, Ann Cooper, as saying after a recent visit to the country. A copy of the statement was faxed to Reuters in Dhaka on Saturday. The CPJ urged the Bangladesh government to vigorously investigate and prosecute all those who murder, assault or threaten the country's journalists. "Without justice -- for those who attack journalists as well as those who order such attacks -- violence will continue and so will Bangladesh's reputation as the most violent country in Asia for journalists." A senior police officer who did not wish to be named said Bangladesh's information minister and other government officials had assured the CPJ team in Dhaka this week that journalists now enjoy full freedom and the protection of the law. Since 1997, at least seven journalists in Bangladesh have been killed in reprisal for their work, and dozens more have been assaulted or threatened, the CPJ said. "The violence is particularly intense in southwestern regions of the country, where criminal gangs and clandestine groups frequently target local journalists who report on such topics as corruption and organised crime. Vigorous prosecutions are rare, even in some high profile cases." |
|
News | Business | Features
| Editorial | Security Produced by Lake House |
