World record, Sagor-Runi report deferred 105 times: Rizvi

Ruhul Kabir Rizvi addressing a news conference at the BNP central office on Tuesday 12 February 2024.

BNP senior joint secretary general Ruhul Kabir Rizvi on Saturday said the delay in the investigation report of journalist Sagar-Runi murder case is another world record.

He came up with the remarks while speaking at a press conference at BNP's Nayapaltan central office.

Rizvi said the killing of journalist couple Sagar Sarwar and Meherun Runi completed one decade yesterday. It is very distressing that the law enforcement agencies did not investigate the real causes of this much-talked-about murder even in a decade. Mysteriously, the actual investigation is being ignored. After the murder, the killers of Sagar-Runi took the laptop from the house, but the laptop has not been recovered even after 12 years. Just as it was not revealed, what was the confidential information in that laptop.

After the murder of the journalist couple at their home in capital Dhaka, the then home minister said the killers would be arrested within 48 hours. Two days later, the IGP said the investigation had made positive progress. The unbelievable reality is that the date of submitting the investigation report of the case to the court has been deferred 105 times so far. In the midst of Awami League's multidimensional world record in corruption, misrule and criminalization, deferring the investigation report of a murder case 105 times is another new world record without precedent, he said.

The reason why the murder case was not tried in the last 12 years may be that some evidence came up in the investigative journalism of Sagar-Runi and they knew something which was very sensitive and threatening for the ruling party. The power and energy sector from which there was state-sponsored corruption of lakhs of crores of taka, was one of the subjects of Sagar-Runi's journalism. It is not unusual for there being connection between this murder and impunity with the perpetrators and looting of the sector.

He said Ain o Salish Kendra reported in 2022 that there are frequent incidents of torture of journalists, including killings, disappearances, murders and abductions, across Bangladesh and 30 journalists have been victims of such incidents in 10 years, which are yet to be tried. In the last 15 years, there have been more than 4,000 incidents of harassment and torture of journalists. Corrupt leaders and workers of Awami League were involved with almost every one of those.

According to media information, 59 journalists were killed during the tenure of this government and more than 250 journalists were tortured under the Digital Security Act. On October 28, 2023, journalist Rafiq Bhuiyan was killed when police fired tear gas shells to foil a peaceful rally of BNP. But the government forced the hospital authorities to declare Rafiq Bhuiyan's demise as a natural death.

Free press is the fourth pillar of a democratic state. But fascism has been established in Bangladesh by imposing various restrictions on the media, the anti-people government is killing journalists in a planned way for performing their professional duties. In these murders, every victim's family has been deprived of justice for years. They are helpless in the face of the accused, because in most cases these terrorist accused are associated with Awami League politics.

Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) has said that continuous attacks, cases, torture and killing of journalists in Bangladesh for publishing news on irregularities, injustice, misdeeds, corruption and misdeeds of the powerful  have become a normal phenomenon.

He said that there is no punishment if journalists are tortured or even killed, the fascist government has established this. To suppress the voice of the media, they are using black laws like digital or cyber security laws violating human rights.

He also said that those who are directly or indirectly responsible for the torture of journalists, almost all of them are associated with Awami League politics or influential quarters and are out of the purview of justice. Awami law and justice cannot touch them. In this way, an anarchic and scary environment has been created in the country. These attacks, cases and repression on journalists, the inaction of the administrative and law enforcement authorities to prevent torture and in some cases their direct pstronage prove that the powerful at the national to local levels are misusing the state machinery, including the judiciary, to hide their corruption and wrongdoings. Some of the law enforcers got the President's medal, promotion and important postings by torturing the workers of opposition parties and journalists of the mass media.

According to a report by the Centre for Governance Studies, 890 cases were filed under the Digital Security Act from January 2020 to February 2022. Of these, the highest 13.68 percent cases were filed against journalists. In most cases, Awami League leaders, activists, law enforcement agencies and various vested quarters filed those.

Rizvi said the annual index of Reporters Without Borders shows that Bangladesh is continuously sliding every year due to the misuse of various laws against journalists and various efforts of the government to suppress dissent. Bangladesh is currently ranked 163rd in the Press Freedom Index among 180 countries in the world.

Rizvi said the Awami League is implementing its agenda to endanger the independent existence of the media alongside attacking journalists, as it feels threatened even by the slightest of criticism. So they have closed Channel One, Islamic TV, Diganta TV, Amar Desh, Daily Dinkal and many other online portals one after another. As a result, thousands of journalists are unemployed and leading a miserable life. In Bangladesh, such a situation is that the owners of any newspaper or TV channel are forcibly and illegally closed if they know that they are close to the opposition party

In Bangladesh, situation is such that any newspaper or TV channel is forcibly and illegally closed down by the anti-people government if they know that their ownwers are close to the opposition.

"And so now a huge section of mass media is being funded by Awami League MPs, ministers and leaders, or by their trusted businessmen," he said. Independent journalism is disappearing under pressure from the owners, many journalists are being forced to join the Awami League's propaganda campaign. The news of some media identified as the spokesman of the fascist government is so one-sided and unbalanced that the people of the country have lost confidence in a section of the media today. Its purpose is to block human rights, democratic values and aspirations in this country at this critical juncture.

He also said, many journalists like Sagar-Runi are trying to uphold the real situation of the nation by ignoring all fears and temptations, maintaining the highest example of honesty and professionalism, being steadfast in the path of truth and justice. Bangladesh Nationalist Party, every political party in the simultaneous movement, on behalf of the forces of democracy, salute these conscientious-patriotic journalist brothers and sisters and your neutral stance in the movement for the restoration of democracy inspires us.

The BNP spokesman said the investigation report in the Sagor-Runi murder case had not been submitted even after a decade. Even the minimum efforts have not been made to bring the perpetrators to justice. He demanded justice in the Sagor-Runi murder on behalf of the BNP by dropping the instance of negligence. By bringing culprits to justice security of every journalists of Bangladesh should be ensured, he said. He pledged to ensure trial of the Sagor-Runi murder case to punish perpetrators and ensure security to each and every joutnalists after the successful conclusion of the current movement for democracy. 

Jounalist leaders Abdal Ahmed, Kade Gani Chowdhury and Mohiuddin were present.