Prothom Alo, The Daily Star attacked

The country’s leading media outlet, Prothom Alo has fallen victim to a targeted and organised terrorist attack. At the same time, office of the leading English newspaper The Daily Star was attacked as well.

Late on Thursday night, assailants carried out vandalism and looting at Prothom Alo’s office in Karwan Bazar and at The Daily Star’s office on Kazi Nazrul Islam Avenue. The attackers subsequently set fire to both premises.

As the attack began, journalists and staff of Prothom Alo quickly evacuated the office to save their lives. Due to the disruption caused by the attack, Prothom Alo could not be published on Friday (19 December).

For the first time in its 27 year history, apart from newspaper holidays, Prothom Alo’s publication was suspended for a full day. Its online edition remained offline for nearly 17 hours.

Outside Dhaka, Prothom Alo offices in Kushtia, Khulna and Sylhet were attacked and vandalised. Attempts were made to attack its offices in Chattogram, Bogura and Barishal as well.

The Daily Star was also unable to publish its print edition and its online operations remained suspended for an extended period. According to The Daily Star authorities, this was the first time in its 33 year history, excluding newspaper holidays that publication had been halted.

During the attack, 28 journalists and staff members of The Daily Star were trapped on the rooftop.

In addition to Prothom Alo and The Daily Star, attacks were carried out on various establishments in different locations in and outside Dhaka.

Following the attacks, the chief adviser of the interim government, Professor Muhammad Yunus on Friday spoke to Prothom Alo editor Matiur Rahman and The Daily Star editor Mahfuz Anam over phone.

In a statement issued by the chief adviser’s press wing, he expressed his deep sympathy to both editors and said, “This unwanted and barbaric attack on your institutions and journalists has deeply shocked me. In this difficult time, the government stands beside you.”

The horrific attacks on Prothom Alo and The Daily Star have been prominently reported by international media outlets including the BBC, Reuters, AFP, AP and Al Jazeera.

Various political parties, among them the BNP, Jamaat-e-Islami, National Citizen Party (NCP), Communist Party of Bangladesh (CPB), Ganosamhati Andolon and AB Party have condemned and protested against the attacks.

The Media Freedom Coalition in Bangladesh (MFC) comprising the United Kingdom, Italy, France, Canada, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and Switzerland, as well as the editors council, the Newspaper Owners Association of Bangladesh (NOAB), Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB), Ain o Salish Kendra (ASK), the National Press Club, journalists unions and other journalists organisations have all condemned the attacks.

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), a global organisation defending journalists rights, has also expressed concern.

Prothom Alo authorities have stated that there are reasonable grounds to believe that a vested group deliberately orchestrated these attacks by exploiting the tragic killing of Sharif Osman Hadi, convener of the Inqilab Moncho, who was at the forefront of the July mass uprising.

This was a black day for independent journalism. Through this incident, not only was there an attempt to derail the forthcoming election, but there was also a clear objective to severely damage Bangladesh’s image in the international arena.

Sharif Osman Hadi was shot on 12 December in Purana Paltan area of Dhaka. He succumbed to his injuries on Thursday night while undergoing treatment in Singapore.

The principal accused in the shooting is Faisal Karim, a former leader of Chhatra League, the organisation whose activities are now banned. According to police sources, he has fled to India.

At around 11:15 pm on Thursday night, 30 to 35 attackers first arrived in front of the Prothom Alo office in Karwan Bazar in a procession from Shahbagh.

When they attempted to launch an attack, police intervened and obstructed them. Failing in their attempt, the attackers remained stationed in front of the Prothom Alo office, chanting various slogans.

Some of them were heard issuing threats, including burning down Prothom Alo and attacking anyone associated with it.

During this time, several attackers were seen making phone calls, asking more people to come to Karwan Bazar.

They also searched the mobile phones of many people in the area. They assaulted several traders and hawkers in Karwan Bazar, with two individuals being beaten. Police and local traders later rescued them.

This situation continued for nearly 45 minutes. At one point, the attackers blocked the road beneath the Karwan Bazar metro station. Meanwhile, several individuals based abroad were seen on social media platforms such as Facebook and YouTube inciting attacks on Prothom Alo.

Amidst this incitement, another group of attackers arrived from Shahbagh in front of the Prothom Alo office.

At around 11:45 pm, the attackers who had already been present and those who had newly arrived jointly launched the attack on the Prothom Alo office.

They initially began hurling bricks and stones, shattering the building’s glass windows. They then started breaking the main gate’s shutter. Eventually, they broke through the shutter of the four-storey building, entered inside and carried out extensive vandalism.

They smashed the front glass, threw sofas, tables, chairs, various equipment and all documents down to the ground floor, piled them up in one place and set them on fire.

The attackers did not stop at vandalising the Prothom Alo office and damaging valuable equipment; they completely destroyed the building’s fire safety system. CCTV (closed-circuit) cameras were also smashed.

While items were being thrown down from different floors of the building, several police officers were present at the scene. Some of them stood at a short distance from the premises.

The number of attackers was large and until that point no other members of the law enforcement agencies were seen in front of the Prothom Alo office.

This was despite the fact that Prothom Alo had informed all law enforcement agencies in advance when the procession set off from Shahbagh.

During the attack, the assailants carried out looting on every floor of the building. They took more than 150 computers and laptops, several lockers used for storing cash, cash money itself and the personal belongings of employees from their desks.

Some individuals were also seen taking books from the Prothoma Prokashan sales outlet on the ground floor of the building. Nothing was left behind on the first, second and third floors of the building.

While the looting was still ongoing, the attackers set fire to the inside of the building. As the flames raged, the attackers were seen celebrating in front of Prothom Alo. Around 1:00 am, the fire intensified and began to spread towards neighbouring buildings.

The electricity connections adjacent to the building also caught fire. At that point, Prothom Alo repeatedly contacted the fire service and the law enforcement agencies. However, due to obstruction by the attackers and road blockades, fire service personnel were unable to reach the scene.

The first fire service unit heading towards Prothom Alo arrived beneath the Karwan Bazar metro station at around 1:45 am. At that time, a group of attackers attempted to assault the fire service vehicles from in front of the Prothom Alo office.

Under attack, two fire service vehicles were forced to retreat rapidly.

At one stage, a section of the attackers, along with another group newly arriving from the Shahbagh direction, moved to join the attack on The Daily Star. As a result, the presence of attackers in front of Prothom Alo somewhat decreased.

In this situation, at around 2:00 am, the army, police, RAB and Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) cordoned off the road in front of the Prothom Alo office. Subsequently, at around 2:30 am, the first fire service unit began firefighting operations.

By the time the fire service started its work, parts of a neighbouring building had already caught fire. Through the efforts of fire service personnel, the fire was brought under control, preventing it from spreading further and protecting surrounding buildings. Gradually, they were also able to extinguish the fire at the Prothom Alo office.

While battling the blaze, two firefighters, Md Alamgir and Md Shafiul Alam, were seriously injured after being electrocuted. They were immediately admitted to Dhaka Medical College Hospital.

By the time the fire service succeeded in extinguishing the fire, the Prothom Alo office had been reduced to ashes. The first, second and third floors of the building were completely burned.

After the fire was put out, inspections inside revealed that nothing remained. The office of the country’s popular OTT platform, Chorki, which was located in the same building, was also extensively damaged.

Prothom Alo authorities stated that when there was a risk of an attack on the office, they had contacted senior levels of the government and various law enforcement agencies, as well as different tiers of government, to request security.

In the past, attempts have been made to exert pressure on Prothom Alo during the tenures of different governments because of its independent journalism.

Former prime minister Sheikh Hasina, who was ousted during the July mass uprising, stated in the National Parliament on 10 April 2023, “Prothom Alo is an enemy of the Awami League. Prothom Alo is an enemy of democracy.”

However, Prothom Alo did not compromise. During the tenure of the interim government, a vested group also attempted to create disorder and attack Prothom Alo in November last year. This time, the office itself was set on fire.

Eyewitnesses reported that after midnight on Thursday, around two hundred attackers broke through the main gate of The Daily Star and entered the ground floor of the building, where they began vandalising the premises.

At one point, they set fire to furniture and stacks of newspapers on the ground floor. The fire spread up to the third floor of the building. To escape the flames, 28 journalists and staff members took refuge on the rooftop. Thick black smoke filled the building, creating a suffocating situation.

At around 1:00 am, The Daily Star’s senior reporter Jaima Islam wrote on Facebook from the rooftop, “I can’t breathe. There’s too much smoke. I am inside. You are killing me.”

On the spot observations revealed that while vandalism, looting and arson were taking place at The Daily Star office, members of the law enforcement agencies were present right in front of the building.

In their presence, the attackers went from the first to the seventh floors of the 12-storey building and carried out extensive vandalism. During this time, various electronic equipment, including computers and cameras, was looted.

Food supplies stored in the canteen were also taken. Photographs of July martyrs Abu Sayeed and Mir Mahfuzur Rahman Mugdho that had been displayed in the The Daily Star building were torn down.

After the arson, the attackers initially prevented fire service vehicles from approaching the The Daily Star building, resulting in delays in firefighting operations.

In a statement, The Daily Star said, “After receiving information about the incident in Shahbagh and reports of a group moving towards the Prothom Alo office in Karwan Bazar, the The Daily Star authorities contacted all relevant government departments. They assured us of assistance and provided support at the scene. However, we are concerned to note that, if coordinated and swift action been taken, our colleagues trapped on the rooftop would not have had to endure hours of extreme uncertainty and fear of death.”

The attackers remained positioned in front of the The Daily Star office from midnight until after 4:30 am. They labelled The Daily Star and Prothom Alo as “allies of fascists,” an allegation both newspapers consider baseless.

During the tenure of the Awami League government, these two newspapers were under the greatest pressure and were banned from the prime minister’s office.

Eyewitnesses said that at around 3:00 am, fire service personnel attempted to bring staff members down from the rooftop of the The Daily Star building using a ladder normally employed for high-rise rescues.

At that time, the attackers raised various slogans and issued threats to assault journalists and staff. As a result, the ladder was withdrawn without evacuating those trapped.

Police, army and fire service personnel attempted to restrain the attackers, but they were unsuccessful. Upon receiving the news, at around 3:00 am the president of the editors council and editor of the English-language newspaper, New Age, Nurul Kabir, went to the front of the The Daily Star office.

At that point, attackers physically harassed him, accusing him of being an “agent of the Awami League”. He was subsequently removed from the scene by members of the army and police.

At around 3:30 am, in an effort to rescue the trapped journalists and staff, photographer and human rights activist Shahidul Alam; former advisers to the interim government Mahfuz Alam and Asif Mahmud Sajib Bhuiyan; National Citizen Party (NCP) convenor Nahid Islam and central party leaders Nasiruddin Patwary, Samantha Sharmin, Nahida Sarwar, Monira Sharmin and Arifur Rahman Tuhin arrived at the The Daily Star office.

They urged the attackers to refrain from violence and disperse. Following their presence, after 4:30 am the trapped journalists and staff were brought down and evacuated with the assistance of law enforcement agencies. During this process, attackers attempted to harass two female staff members.

The Daily Star stated that although suffocating conditions were created by heavy smoke, due to the efforts of the fire service, police and army, no journalists or staffs were injured and all were able to return home safely. However, the office sustained extensive damage.

Quoting The Daily Star’s head of Human Resources, Mahmudul Hasan Khan, a report by the newspaper said that the attackers burned and destroyed almost everything from the ground floor to the second floor.

Computers, tables, chairs, sofas, camera lenses and various other equipment on different floors of the building were vandalised.

Following the incident, at around 4:00 pm yesterday, Friday, The Daily Star published a statement on its website titled “The Daily Star will move forward with unbroken resolve.”

The statement said, “We are deeply saddened by the untimely death of Sharif Osman Hadi, one of the leading figures of the July mass uprising.

However, it is a matter of grave concern that a particular group has exploited this public anger to incite violence against the two newspapers (Prothom Alo and The Daily Star) that stand for objective journalism.

We consider this to be yet another attempt to create instability in the country and to derail the forthcoming election.”