Five on-duty journalists were martyred during July uprising

Journalist Md Mehedi Hasan lived with his wife and two daughters in a one-room rented house in Keraniganj, Dhaka. Every night, his wife and daughters would wait for him to return home. On 18 July last year, too, they were waiting. But earlier that evening, Mehedi was shot in the chest by police rubber bullets in Dhaka’s Jatrabari area. He was taken to Dhaka Medical College Hospital, where he was declared dead.

Mehedi worked as a reporter for the online news outlet Dhaka Times 24.com. On that day, he had gone to Jatrabari to cover news.

During the July mass uprising, five journalists, including Mehedi, were martyred while carrying out professional duties. Three were killed in Dhaka, one in Sylhet, and another in Habiganj. Among them, Mehedi Hasan was killed in Jatrabari, Shakil Hossain in Uttara, and Tahir Zaman in Dhanmondi. In Sylhet, journalist Abu Taher Md Turab was martyred while reporting, and in Baniachong of Habiganj, Sohel Akhanji was killed.

According to the official government gazette, a total of 844 people were martyred across the country during the July uprising. The names of the five martyred journalists are included in that list.

Among three brothers, 40-year-old Mehedi Hasan was the eldest. He used to bear his younger brothers' educational and family expenses. Living in a one-room house in Keraniganj was difficult for his family. They had planned to move into a two-room house in August 2024—but that never happened.

Mehedi was from Bauphal in Patuakhali. His wife Farhana Islam still lives in Keraniganj with their two daughters. When Mehedi was martyred, the elder daughter was three and a half years old, and the younger one just seven months.

Farhana, devastated by her husband’s death, said that shelter over our heads is gone now.

Speaking to Prothom Alo on 10 July, she said she has received Tk 1 million in aid from the government but expressed dissatisfaction with the progress of justice.

“I filed two cases—one in court and one at the police station. But there’s been no progress. The way my husband was killed, it shouldn’t have been hard to find the killer.”

On the same day Mehedi was martyred, journalist Shakil Hossain was shot in the chest in front of Azampur Police Station in Uttara while performing his professional duty. He too was declared dead at the hospital.

Shakil, 23, was a BBA student at Manarat International University.

Alongside his studies, he worked as a Gacha thana correspondent for Dainik Bhorer Awaj. He lived with his family in a rented house in the Hossain Market area of Tongi.

His family is originally from Sadar upazila in Lakshmipur. His father Md. Belayet Hossain, is a businessman. Shakil was the youngest among one brother and three sisters.

Shakil’s father, Belayet Hossain, has filed a case with the International Crimes Tribunal. Broken by the loss of his only son, he said, “The government and some organisations helped us financially, but we will never get our son back!”

On 19 July, 27-year-old freelance photojournalist Tahir Zaman (Priyo) was working on assignment in Dhaka’s Green Road area in Dhanmondi. A police bullet struck him in the head.

At the time, police were continuously firing to disperse protesters in the area. Due to the intense gunfire, no one could come forward to rescue him. His body was later found at Dhaka Medical College morgue that night.

Tahir’s family hails from Rangpur. His five-year-old daughter, Sabira Zaman, now lives in Dhaka with her grandmother and mother.

The family has filed cases with New Market Police Station and the International Crimes Tribunal. His mother, Shamsi Ara Zaman, told Prothom Alo, “We martyr families are not satisfied with the way the trial is proceeding. Nowhere else in the world have the so-called protectors of a country shed this much blood! Justice should have come much faster. We had hoped to see significant progress within a year.”

She added, “No one can fill the void of a lost child. The dreams my son carried—this pain will remain for life. Every time I see media or a camera or someone succeeding, I feel that my Priyo could have reached that place. I will carry that regret for the rest of my life.”

On 19 July, after Juma prayers, local BNP leaders and activists brought out a protest rally in support of the uprising at Court Point in Sylhet city. Abu Taher Md Turab, bureau chief of Dainik Naya Diganta in Sylhet, was covering the event. Police opened fire at the rally. Turab was shot and later died at the hospital that evening.

Initially, the police only filed a general diary (GD) when the family tried to lodge a case. The family formally filed a case on 19 August after the fall of the Awami League government.

Turab, 34, was the youngest among three brothers and one sister. He had recently married Tania Islam, a UK resident, on 12 May the same year—just two months and six days before his death.

His elder brother, Jabur Ahmed, told Prothom Alo, “Turab’s body was riddled with police bullets. His death has devastated our entire family. Our mother is around 70 years old. She wishes to see justice for Turab in her lifetime.”

On 5 August, hundreds of students gathered at LR Government High School in Baniachong upazila of Habiganj. They brought out a protest rally that passed by Borobazar and headed toward the police station. Local Awami League activists tried to block them in the Eidgah area. Eventually, the protesters came under attack and gunfire.

Nine people were martyred at the scene. Among them was 35-year-old journalist Sohel Akhanji, a staff reporter for the local Dainik Lokalay Barta. He had been reporting from the ground.

Sohel is survived by his wife, two daughters, and a son. His parents are deceased, and he had no siblings. His wife and children live in Baniachong.

The government has provided Tk 1 million in savings bonds and Tk 500,000 in financial assistance from the July Martyrs Memorial Foundation. The family currently survives on this aid.

His wife, Mousumi Akhter, told Prothom Alo, “We were devastated by my husband’s death. We haven’t filed a case due to financial hardship and legal complications. However, several cases filed by others have mentioned my husband’s killing. I want justice for his murder.”

All five families of the journalists martyred while on duty demand swift justice, but remain dissatisfied with the pace of legal proceedings.

Kamal Ahmed, chief of the Media Reform Commission, told Prothom Alo that many journalists individually supported the July uprising and the movement. A few media institutions also played courageous and positive roles. Those who sacrificed their lives did so while working. Many journalists carried out their duties despite great risk. They absolutely deserve a salute.

However, Kamal Ahmed pointed out that most of the media outlets and journalists were aligned, in various ways, with the former government rather than democracy and the mass movement.

He expressed hope that the interim government will implement the Media Reform Commission’s recommendation to withdraw cases filed against journalists who faced harassment, repression, or lawsuits under the previous Awami League regime—and also compensate them on behalf of the state.