Man, earlier detained over attack on journos, sues 27 journos alleging they attacked him

A case has been filed against 27 journalists in Chattogram, accusing them of assaulting a pedestrian.

However, journalist leaders strongly denied the allegation, claiming instead that the complainant himself launched an attack on journalists after announcing to foil a get-together program organised by the journalists.

The case was filed on Tuesday (13 May), 12 days after the reported incident, by Advocate Rezaul Islam with the court of Chattogram Metropolitan Magistrate Md Abu Bakar Siddique.

The complaint names 38 individuals in total, including 27 professional journalists working with various local and national media outlets and members of the Chattogram Union of Journalists (CUJ). Additionally, 70 to 80 unidentified individuals have been accused. The court has directed the Police Bureau of Investigation (PBI) in Chattogram to probe the allegations.

According to the complaint, the plaintiff was en route to join a May Day rally organised by the city's labour wing of the BNP when he witnessed a group beating up a labourer near the gate of Jamiatul Falah Mosque around 10:00am.

The plaintiff claims that upon intervening, the accused journalists surrounded and assaulted him. He further alleges that 70–80 unidentified armed individuals joined in, attempted to suffocate him with a scarf, and hurled a crude bomb that caused serious eye injuries, leaving his left eye completely blind.

The plaintiff also accuses the attackers of stealing Tk30,000 in cash and his mobile phone. He claims he was later bound with ropes and forced into a microbus, during which he was beaten with sticks and subjected to an attempted abduction and possible murder.

Journalist leaders have dismissed the allegations as entirely fabricated and politically motivated.

In a statement, CUJ President Reaz Haider Chowdhury and General Secretary Sabur Shuvo said, "Rezaul Islam had publicly posted a Facebook status on 30 April, threatening to disrupt a scheduled journalists' gathering. On 1 May, during the event at Anwara's Parki Beach, journalists were allegedly attacked near the Jamiatul Falah Mosque gate. Three journalists were injured in the attack: Pradip Kumar Shil of Daily Life, Khorshedul Alam Shamim of Jaijaidin, and Shafiqul Islam Khan of Dainik Purbodesh."

Screenshot of the Facebook post where Rezaul Islam announced a human chain programme in protest of the journalists' event

Eyewitnesses and pedestrians reportedly caught Rezaul Islam and his associate named Shahid alias Korban Ali (26), and handed them over to the Khulshi Police. However, CUJ leaders allege that police, under political pressure, released the assailants instead of filing a case.

Terming the case "concocted," CUJ leaders said it was filed to divert attention from the original incident and to harass journalists. They called for the immediate withdrawal of the "false and malicious" lawsuit and demanded a fair investigation into the actual attack on journalists.

Several journalist bodies have condemned the filing of the case, including the TV Camera Journalists Association, the Chattogram Photo Journalists Association, and the Chattogram-based Sankania-Lohagara Journalists Forum. Leaders from these organisations have termed the lawsuit an attack on press freedom and an abuse of the legal process.