A mob in Bangladesh set fire to the offices of two major newspapers on 18 December, trapping journalists inside and marking a dramatic escalation in a year that has seen 184 deaths from mob violence. The attacks targeted the Daily Star and Prothom Alo after the assassination of Sharif Osman Hadi, a leader from the pro-democracy movement that ousted former prime minister Sheikh Hasina in August 2024. Authorities said Hadi's killers were Hasina loyalists who had fled to India.
Zyma Islam, a reporter for the Daily Star, was among 29 colleagues who fled to the roof as smoke filled the building. 'We all knew that this mob was not going to stop at trashing this office, that it was going to set fire to it,' she said. Choking on smoke, she posted a final message on Facebook: 'I can't breathe any more. There's too much smoke. I'm inside. You are killing me.' The military did not arrive to escort them out until about 4am.
According to human rights organisation Ain o Salish Kendra, 184 people have been killed in mob violence so far this year up to November, compared with 51 in all of 2023. On 12 December, a Hindu garment worker was lynched after rumours of blasphemy. The violence has dimmed the optimism that followed Hasina's ousting after 15 years of autocratic rule.
The interim government, led by Muhammad Yunus, has struggled to maintain order. Shafiqul Alam, Yunus's press secretary, said he made 'scores of calls to the right people' without success, adding he wished he could 'bury myself in shame'. A journalist from Prothom Alo, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the attacks were more shocking than under Hasina because the government offered no help and 'surrendered to the mob'.
Zia Chowdhury, a reporter for the Business Standard, said all journalists now feel vulnerable. 'There was much hope since the interim government took charge but the hope has diminished slowly,' he said, as the country approaches elections expected in February.
