FROM PAGE 12

Mohiuddin Sarkar Naeem, a journalist based in Cumilla.

The murders formed a broader trend of violence against journalists in the country.

Between January and May, as many as 118 journalists were physically attacked in 62 incidents, according to the statement.

“Continued violence against journalists across the country, including the filed cases and arrests of journalists under the deeply flawed Digital Security Act of 2018, the recent brutal killings of three media workers, as well as the internationally talked about journalist couple Sagar-Runi murder case in which the submission of an investigation report has been deferred for 89th time so far prove that the violation of the rights of journalists and crimes against journalists indicate the persisting culture of impunity and increasingly fragile state of freedom of expression in Bangladesh.”

This has created an atmosphere and culture of fear and self-censorship, it added.