11 February 2013

One Year on, Still No Clarity in Traumatic Murder of Journalist Couple in Bangladesh

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) joins

partners in Bangladesh in observing the one-year anniversary of the murder of journalists Sagar Sarowar and

Meherun Runi, a married couple found dead in their apartment in Dhaka city on

February 11, 2012.

Unions and associations in Bangladesh are observing a

day of protest today, calling for results that have remained elusive despite

judicial scrutiny over the investigation.

After the initial failure by local police to identify

the murderers or even establish a motive, the investigations were assigned to

the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB), an

anti-terrorism force believed to have greater expertise.

The RAB made

nine arrests in connection with the murder through the past year, of which an

estimated four are suspected to have underworld connections. The latest arrest

of the security guard at the apartment block where the murdered couple lived,

was made in December and has so far not yielded any further results. DNA

matching has also failed to yield any results.

Meherun Runi’s

brother, a plaintiff in a case before the High Court that is asking for a swift

investigation, has been quoted as saying that the case is “going nowhere”.

“We share the

anguish of our Bangladeshi colleagues, at the slow pace of investigations and

the failure to establish any manner of motive for this brutal double murder”

said the IFJ Asia Pacific.

“We extend our

solidarity to the families of the murdered journalists and all colleagues in

Bangladesh who are seeking to ensure that justice is done in this matter”.

For

further information contact IFJ Asia-Pacific on +612 9333 0919

The IFJ

represents more than 600,000 journalists in 131 countries

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the IFJ on Twitter: @ifjasiapacific