A journalist was assaulted inside the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate’s (CMM) Court in Dhaka during the bail hearing of fellow journalist Manjurul Alam Panna. The incident left Asif Hossain Siam, a reporter for Somoy TV, injured.
The attack took place on Thursday (September 4) in the courtroom of Metropolitan Magistrate Hasib Ullah Piyash. Panna had been produced before the court in a case filed under the Anti-Terrorism Act by Shahbagh Police.
According to Siam, the judge instructed that all outsiders leave the courtroom, allowing only lawyers and journalists to remain. At that point, some lawyers allegedly tried to force a reporter from New Age to leave. When Siam intervened, clarifying that the person was also a journalist, one of the lawyers punched him in the face.
Siam said he immediately informed the judge that the assault had occurred in his presence, but several lawyers then attempted to drag him out of the courtroom.
It was not immediately clear whether the assailants were lawyers representing the state or the defense.
