Staff Correspondent

Dhaka Journalists Union (DUJ) has expressed concern over the involvement of journalists in murder cases in various places after the change in politics.

The organization requested the Chief Advisor of the interim government and the advisor of the relevant ministry to immediately release the journalists from such cases.

DUZ President Sohel Haider Chowdhury and General Secretary Aktar Hossain made this request in a statement on Friday .

According to the statement, after the change of politics and power on August 5, professional journalists are being implicated in one murder case after another. There have been murder cases against more than fifty journalists in different districts of the country including the capital Dhaka. Some of them are leading various journalist unions and press clubs besides journalism. These people are ensuring people's right to information through journalism on the one hand, while journalists are leading the society on the other hand. But filing one murder case against them does not bode well.

DUJ president and general secretary said in a statement that if any complaint against a journalist is proved concretely, a case can be filed against him. But it is not appropriate to involve the previous government in the case of murder by accusing it of cooperation in various ways. The incident of harassment and torture observed in the court premises after arrest in these cases is not acceptable in any way. Therefore, the miscreants involved in such heinous attacks and torture incidents should be immediately identified and brought under the law.

DUJ also believes that the case of murder cases against journalists is making the entire journalist community panic on the one hand, and spreading fear in the minds of the people on the other hand.

The organization says this could create obstacles to the commitment to build a state and society free of discrimination. Therefore, such cases against journalists and journalist leaders are called for immediate withdrawal.