Journalist Found Dead in Bangladesh, PEC Demands Probe

The body of a journalist has been recovered by the police in Kumarkhali in Bangladesh.

The deceased has been identified as Hashibur Rahaman Rubel. His body was recovered in a partly decomposed state under a bridge on Garai River in Kumarkhali on July 7 (Thursday).

According to reports, the young scribe went missing five days back. Rubel was associated with Bengali newspapers namely ‘Dainik Khustiar Khabar’ and ‘Amader Notun Samay’ and was an editor of an online portal Crimevisionbd.

Press Emblem Campaign (PEC), the global media safety and rights body, has demanded an authentic probe into the death of the journalist as severe injury marks were traced in his body.

PEC has extended moral support to Kushtia journalists who launched protests demanding justice to Rubel’s wife Iti Khatun along with other family members.

It may be mentioned that Rubel is the 76th media person who has been killed by miscreants this year. On the other hand 79 media persons lost their lives to assailants in 2021.

PEC president Blaise Lempen said, “The war in Ukraine and the rampant criminality in Mexico become the main reasons for the alarming rise of journo-murders this year. But the south Asian region particularly countries like Pakistan, India and Bangladesh continue to report regular murders of scribes. We demand all the crimes to be investigated with no impunity to culprits.”

PEC’s south Asia representative Nava Thakuria informed that Rubel is the third journalist to be killed in Bangladesh this year after Mohiuddin Sarker Nayeem and Abdul Bari. Pakistan lost four media workers namely Iftikhar Ahmed, Hasnain Shah, Murtaza Shar and Athar Mateen to assailants. India witnessed the murder of Rohit Kumar Biswal, Sudhir Saini, Juned Khan Pathan and Subhash Kumar Mahato.

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