'When media outlets set ablaze, freedom of speech turns to ashes'
Sharif Osman Hadi, spokesperson of the Inqilab Manchsuccumbed to his bullet injuries around 9:45 pm on Thursday while undergoing treatment in Singapore. Within moments of hearing this news, an angry crowd gathered at Shahbagh intersection in the capital. A section of them then moved towards Karwan Bazar. Upon arrival, they first vandalized and looted the office of Daily Prothom Alo and then that of the Daily Star on Kazi Nazrul Islam Avenue. Later, both outlets were set on fire. During this time, the protesters attacked New Age Editor Nurul Kabir. When the attack began, journalists and staff of Prothom Alo quickly left premise to save their lives while journalists of the Daily Star took shelter on the roof. For the first time since their establishment, the publication of Prothom Alo and the Daily Star was suspended for a day, excluding the newspaper holiday. This incident tarnished the country's image all over the world. Freedom of the media has been called into question. According to prominent figures, the incident of setting fire to the offices of the country's two leading newspapers amounts to strangling the freedom of speech of the people of the country. In fact, they say that when the media is burned, freedom of speech is reduced to ashes.
