Members of the hardline political group carried out the attack on the media workers after a news broadcast in front of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (BSMMU) in Dhaka's Shahbagh area. Reporter Sheikh Farid and RTV camera operator Ayatullah Manik were among those injured, as was Jamuna TV reporter Shawkat Manju Shanto, Mahfuzur Rahman Mithu and cinematographer Bishonath Sarker.
At approximately 11pm on August 14, Shokat Manju Shanto, a reporter with Jamuna TV, conducted a live broadcast outside the hospital where he referred to Sayeedee as a convicted war criminal. Subsequently, a group of protestors surrounded Shanto and physically abused him. Mahfuzur Rahman Mithu, a photographer who was wearing protective gear consisting of a helmet and a vest with the inscription of Jamuna TV, also encountered a hostile situation inside the hospital.
When RTV reporters arrived at the scene and exited their vehicle at approximately 11.30pm, a group of individuals surrounded them and allegedly yelled, "How dare you label our leader a war criminal? Sayedee is our leader and Islam's protector”. During the assault, the attackers stole assorted items, including a camera, a knapsack, and a wallet. According to the media outlets, all those who were hurt received medical care at hospitals, some of them experiencing severe injuries.
Sayedee, 83, died earlier that day after suffering a heart attack in a prison outside the capital Dhaka. The religious leader’s death prompted protests across the city that turned violent when police moved in to disperse demonstrators. Originally sentenced to death in 2013 for rape, murder and the persecution of Hindu Bangladeshis during the country’s war for independence in 1971, Sayadee later had his sentence reduced to “imprisonment till death”.
Sayedee was a former vice president of the opposition Jamaat-e-Islami political party representing Pirojpur. The International Crimes Tribunal 1 in February 2013 determined that he had participated in acts of violence resulting in fatalities in Pirojpur during the War of Liberation. The hardline political group still has a large following despite being banned for much of its history. The party remains controversial for supporting Bangladesh’s continued union with Pakistan during the brutal civil war.
The IFJ said: “The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) demands a swift investigation of the circumstance surrounding the brutal assaults on these journalists and urges the relevant authorities to arrest the culprits and bring the perpetrators to justice. These journalists were simply doing their jobs and reporting on the facts of a religious leaders’ life and the charges found against him.”