Press Emblem Campaign (PEC), the global body for media safety
and rights condemns the murder of  Bangladeshi journalist Mohiuddin
Sarker Nayeem (28) and demands exemplary punishments to the
perpetrators. In an earlier statement, the PEC expressed its serious
concern over the sharp rise in journalists killed across the world
this year.
Mentionable is that Cumilla-based journalist  Mohiuddin was shot dead
by suspected drug smugglers on 14 April 2022. His family members
claimed that Mohiuddin used to report the drug trafficking in
his locality. The Bangladesh police forces received a lot of input
from Mohiuddin about the movement of drug peddlers.
Son of a retired policeman,  Mohiuddin was associated with the local
Bengali newspaper ‘Dainik Cumillar Dak’ and for some time he also
worked for Ananda television news channel.  He was targeted by gunmen
at Pachora area near Hyderabadnagar on Wednesday midnight and later
succumbed to injuries in the hospital.
“So far in 2022, globally we have lost 45 journalists to assailants.
This is a dramatic rise and very worrying as the number of journalists
killed last year was only 79. The war in Ukraine,  the conflict
triggered by Russia, has claimed 15 victims among media workers and
over 20 journalists sustained injuries. On the other hand,  Mexico
witnessed the murder of  9 journalists to date,” said PEC president
Blaise Lampen.
PEC’s south Asia representative Nava Thakuria lamented that a young
Bengali scribe had to lose his life on the eve of Bangladesh New Year.
Local journalists have demonstrated their anger against the murder in
front of Cumilla Press Club on Friday demanding exemplary punishment
for the killers. Lately, four individuals have been arrested by the
police suspecting their involvement with Mohiuddin’s cold-blooded
murder.
Bangladesh’s eastern neighbor Myanmar has also lost one journalist
(Pu Tui Dim) to military atrocities, whereas its western neighbor
India (Rohit Kumar Biswal, Sudhir Saini, and Juned Khan Pathan) and
also, Pakistan (Hasnain Shah, Murtaza Shar, and Athar Mateen) witnessed
the murder of three scribes each since 1 January 2022. However, other
South Asian nations like Nepal, Bhutan, Tibet (China) Sri Lanka and
The Maldives have evaded any murder of media workers to date this year.