‘Scared to death': B'desh newspaper goes unpublished for first time; editor recounts 'darkest night'

A mob of protesters acceptable the offices of Bangladeshi newspapers Prothom Alo and The Daily Star connected occurrence aft Sharif Osman Hadi, Bangladesh’s younker leader, was killed aft being changeable successful the caput connected December 12.According to witnesses, hundreds of Hadi’s supporters chanted slogans earlier mounting the gathering successful Dhaka connected occurrence astir midnight.

Prothom Alo’s enforcement exertion Sajjad Sharif narrated the incidental and described it arsenic the “darkest night” for newspapers successful Bangladesh.

“Some miscreants vandalised our media house. Last night, portion our journalists were moving connected tomorrow’s paper and online platforms, a tragic incidental occurred.

One of the leaders of past year’s uprising, Sharif Osman Hadi, was killed by idiosyncratic aft being shot, and helium died yesterday,” helium said.“There was choler successful society, and the miscreants channelled that choler to demolish newspapers. They attacked us, and our journalists were frightened to death. They had to fly the office. We couldn’t people our paper today, and our online tract has been offline since past night. Since its constitution successful 1998, successful 27 years, this is the archetypal clip we haven’t published our newspaper.

It is the darkest nighttime for newspapers,” helium added.Sharif further urged the authorities to behaviour a due probe to place the miscreants and bring them to justice.“It’s an onslaught connected our state of code and state of the quality media. We impulse the authorities to behaviour a due probe to find the miscreants and bring them nether the law,” helium said.A caller question of unrest has been ignited pursuing the decease of the 32-year-old pupil leader.

Hadi was changeable successful the caput by masked gunmen successful cardinal Dhaka portion launching his predetermination run and died six days aboriginal successful a Singapore hospital. His decease has reignited governmental instability astatine a clip erstwhile Bangladesh is preparing for a important nationalist predetermination and recalibrating its narration with New Delhi.Emerging from the July Uprising, Hadi had go the convenor and spokesperson of Inquilab Mancha, a level opposed to each forms of governmental domination.

Educated astatine the University of Dhaka, helium was a fierce professional not lone of the Awami League but of mainstream authorities arsenic a whole. He rejected established Bangladeshi governmental elites and positioned himself arsenic a dependable of generational rupture.Authorities said Hadi was attacked portion riding successful a rickshaw adjacent Box Culvert Road successful the Motijheel area. He was changeable adjacent his near ear, mislaid important humor and remained successful captious information earlier being airlifted abroad.Police initially said it was unclear who carried retired the onslaught oregon why. His death, confirmed by interim main advisor Muhammad Yunus, instantly sparked protests crossed Dhaka and different cities, with demonstrators vandalising buildings, torching paper offices and targeting symbols linked to the governmental establishment.