Amid the violence that broke out after the death of a student leader in Bangladesh, protests and attacks against journalists have intensified in the country. Last week, Islamic fundamentalists set fire and vandalized the offices of two major newspapers of the country, in protest against which the journalists there protested fiercely on Monday (December 22, 2025).
Dozens of journalists and media personnel protested by forming a human chain in the country’s capital Dhaka. They were holding placards condemning attacks on press freedom and democratic values. Meanwhile, security forces were also deployed on the spot.
Violence broke out after the death of student leader
In fact, last Thursday (December 18, 2025) an angry mob attacked two offices in Dhaka. Many parts of the office building were set on fire and a lot of vandalism was also done in the office premises. These attacks took place amid anti-India sentiment that emerged after the death of Bangladesh’s popular student leader Sharif Usman Hadi.
Usman Hadi, 32, a staunch critic of India, was one of the leading faces of the pro-democracy movement that ousted Bangladesh’s then PM Sheikh Hasina from power last year. Earlier this month, Usman was shot by two masked gunmen as he was leaving a mosque in Dhaka. Hadi later died during treatment in a hospital in Singapore on Thursday (18 December).
Protestors set fire to many buildings in Dhaka
Protestors enraged by the killing of student leader Osman Hadi set fire to several buildings in the capital Dhaka, including the offices of two major newspapers, which are considered pro-India.
At the same time, Nurul Kabir, editor of New Age Daily and President of National Editors Council in Bangladesh, said that the attackers tried to burn the journalists alive. “When journalists were working inside the office, buildings were set on fire and even the fire department was prevented from carrying out rescue operations,” he said at a rally on Monday (December 22).
He said that the attackers had made it clear that anyone who disagreed with them would be burnt alive. He was even attacked while trying to help journalists trapped on the rooftop.
Accusations leveled against Mohammad Yunus’s government
Human rights organizations and media organizations in Bangladesh strongly criticized the uproar and violence and accused Mohammad Yunus and the government led by him of failing to control the situation. Media personnel claimed that this attack was carried out by people associated with the Yunus government.
Also read: International insult to Bangladesh! Case of murder of Hindu youth reached UN, complaint filed against Yunus government
