Following Islam’s death, several media outlets started claiming that Saiful was Das’ lawyer who was killed amid the protests. Republic aired this claim and published a report suggesting that Das was killed in police firing.

Other outlets including First Post, India Today Global, Economic Times, Zee News, Asianet News and Patrika also published the same claim.

Right Wing propaganda outlet OpIndia published a report with the title, “Bangladesh: Muslim lawyer representing ISKCON monk Chinmoy Krishna Das killed amid protests”. In their report, OpIndia cited the Republic’s report on the same issue. The title has been changed at the time of writing this report. Here is an archive of the older version of their article.

Several right-wing influencers amplified the viral claim, including @KreatelyMedia, @MeghUpdates, Firstpost and Amar Ujala columnist Advaita Kala, and India Today journalist Nabila Jamal.

Reuters published this particular claim, attributing it to a police official. They have since corrected the article.

Fact Check

Bangladesh Chief Adviser Mohammed Yunus’s Press Wing released a statement fact-checking Republic’s article. “The claim (that Islam was Das’s lawyer) false and is being spread with malafide intention”. Citing the vokalatnama or the legal document in Das’s case, they highlighted that advocate Subasish Sharma is his lawyer.

Alt News contacted Mohammad Ashraf Hossain Chy (Razzaque), Secretary of the Chittagong District Bar Association, who confirmed that the deceased advocate Saiful Islam was not Chinmoy Krishna Das’s lawyer. He further clarified that Islam was neither representing Chinmoy Krishna Das nor the prosecution. “This information is misleading,” he stated.

We discovered that Islam had shared a video from a page called ‘Face The People-ফেস দ্যা পিপল’ where the narrator claims that Chinmoy Krishna Das delivered various speeches issuing threats and warnings aimed at the current government at religious gatherings. If Islam had been Das’s lawyer, it is unlikely he would have shared a video that makes a case against Das.

Moreover, several local reports indicate that Islam was killed by protestors, not by police firing as claimed by Republic. Chittagong District Lawyers Association President Nazim Uddin Chowdhury told Bangladesh daily Prothom Alo that the protestors hacked the lawyer to death.

Another Bangladeshi media outlet Jamuna TV laid out the chain of events in a report. According to their account, on November 26, 2024, Das was presented before the Chattogram Metropolitan Magistrate. The court denied his bail and ordered his imprisonment. This triggered protests at the court premises. The prison van was blocked and vehicles, roads, and parts of the court, including its mosque, were vandalised. The protests escalated into violence, with Chinmoy’s supporters clashing with police and lawyers. During the chaos, lawyer Saiful Islam Alif was attacked and fatally beaten in Rangam Cinema Lane. This was corroborated by an eyewitness to Daily Star. He was taken to Chattogram Medical College Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

At least six people have been arrested in connection with Islam’s murder. Following his death, his colleagues protested at the hospital, blaming ISKCON and demanding justice. Several demonstrations have been carried in Chittagong with lawyers calling for a two-day strike on November 27. Leaders from various political parties and student coordinators demanded an immediate investigation into its activities into ISKCON’s activities in Bangladesh. The Munshiganj District Nationalist Lawyers Forum held a rally where speakers strongly condemned the murder and issued stern warnings against ISKCON members.

These developments suggest that Islam’s supporters believe his murder was carried out by protestors associated with ISKCON.

Thus, Saiful Islam’s death was reported by various Indian media outlets as the killing of Chinmoy Das’s lawyer in police firing. However, Alt News found this claim to be false. Our investigation revealed that Islam was not Das’s lawyer and had no affiliation with either side in the case. Additionally, several local reports stated that Islam was killed by protestors.

The post Indian Media misreports deceased Bangladeshi advocate Saiful Islam as Chinmoy Krishna Das’s lawyer appeared first on Alt News.

This content originally appeared on Alt News and was authored by Shinjinee Majumder.

On Saturday, October 28, at least 27 journalists covering rallies in the capital of Dhaka were attacked by supporters of the main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party and the ruling Awami League party, as well as police, according to a statement by local press freedom group Bangladeshi Journalists in International Media, several journalists who spoke to CPJ, and various news reports.

BNP demonstrators demanded that Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina of the Awami League step down and allow a nonpartisan caretaker government to oversee the upcoming election scheduled for January. Police fired tear gas, sound grenades, and rubber bullets to disperse BNP protesters, who threw stones and bricks in response.

“The attacks on at least 27 Bangladeshi journalists covering recent political rallies in Dhaka must see swift and transparent accountability,” said CPJ Program Director Carlos Martínez de la Serna. “The leadership and supporters of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party and the Awami League, as well as police, must respect the rights of journalists to freely and safely report on the lead-up to the upcoming election scheduled for January.”

Md Rafsan Jani, a crime reporter for The Daily Kalbela newspaper, told CPJ that he was filming BNP supporters allegedly assaulting police officers when two demonstrators approached him and took his phone and identification card. A group of BNP supporters then surrounded Jani and beat him with iron rods, sticks, and pipes as he repeatedly identified himself as a journalist, he said, adding that he managed to escape after around 20 minutes. As of November 1, his items had not been returned.

S A Masum, a photographer for The Daily Inqilab newspaper, told CPJ that he was taking photos of a confrontation between Awami League and BNP supporters when his head was repeatedly struck from behind with what he suspected to be a bamboo stick, knocking him unconscious while the attackers, whom he did not identify, continued to beat him. Bystanders at the scene rescued Masum and took him to the hospital, where he was treated for a concussion and severe bruising and open lesions throughout his body, according to the journalist, who shared photos of his injuries with CPJ.

Md Sirajum Salekin, a crime reporter for the Dhaka Times newspaper, told CPJ that he was on his motorcycle on the way to cover clashes at the chief justice’s residence when a vehicle hit his motorcycle from behind, causing him to fall and break two bones in his right leg. Salekin said he believed he was targeted because he was wearing his press badge and his motorcycle was marked with a sticker of the Dhaka Times, which has critically reported on the Awami League.

Awami League demonstrators beat The Daily Kalbela reporter Abu Saleh Musa while covering their rally, according to The Daily Star.

Mohammad Ali Mazed, a video reporter for the French news agency Agence France-Presse, told CPJ that he was covering a clash between police and BNP demonstrators while holding a camera and press identification when five to six demonstrators surrounded him. The demonstrators damaged Mazed’s camera and other news equipment and beat him on his head, back, and right shoulder with bamboo sticks for around three minutes until the journalist fled the scene with the assistance of bystanders, he said.

Sazzad Hossain, a freelance photographer working with the news website Bangla Tribune and international outlets, including the British newspaper The Guardian and photo agency SOPA Images, told CPJ that BNP protesters threw broken bricks at him and trampled him while he was covering a clash with police.

Salahuddin Ahmed Shamim, a freelance photographer reporting for the news agency Fair News Service, told CPJ that he was covering BNP protesters allegedly assaulting police officers when seven to eight of the party’s supporters surrounded him, beat his backside with bamboo sticks, and kicked him for around 15 minutes.

Two journalists who spoke to CPJ– Sheikh Hasan Ali, chief photojournalist for Kaler Kantho newspaper, and Ahammad Foyez, senior correspondent for New Age newspaper– said they were struck with rubber bullets when police attempted to disperse BNP protesters, leaving them with minor injuries.

Ali told CPJ that an unidentified man hit the Kaler Kantho photographer Lutfor Rahman with a bamboo stick on his right shoulder while covering the same clashes.

Md Hanif Rahman, a photographer for the Ekushey TV broadcaster, told CPJ that he and Ekushey TV reporter Touhidur Rahman were covering an arson attack on a police checkpoint when they were surrounded by a group of 10 to 12 men who beat Md Hanif Rahman with pipes and sticks and pushed Touhidur Rahman.

Rabiul Islam Rubel, a reporter for The Daily Kalbela, told CPJ that he was among a crowd of BNP supporters while covering the clashes at the chief justice’s residence when 15 to 20 men threw bricks at him while shouting that journalists are “government brokers.”

Jony Rayhan, a reporter for The Daily Kalbela, told CPJ that BNP supporters beat him while covering their rally. Rayhan was also injured by a sound grenade that landed in front of him while police were dispersing the demonstrators, he said.

Salman Tareque Sakil, chief reporter for Bangla Tribune, told CPJ that he sustained a leg fracture after a brick was thrown at him while covering the BNP rally.

Jubair Ahmed, a Bangla Tribune reporter, told CPJ that while police were dispersing BNP demonstrators, a tear gas shell landed in front of him, blurring his vision before the protesters trampled him while fleeing the scene.

Tahir Zaman, a reporter for the news website The Report, was also injured by a rubber bullet while covering clashes at the BNP rally, according to his outlet and BJIM.

BJIM and local media named an additional 10 journalists who were attacked, but did not provide details on the incidents, which CPJ continues to investigate. Those journalists are:

• Touhidul Islam Tareque, reporter for The Daily Kalbela
• Kazi Ihsan bin Didar, crime reporter for the Breaking News website
• Tanvir Ahmed, reporter for The Daily Ittefaq newspaper
• Sheikh Nasir, reporter for The Daily Ittefaq
• Arifur Rahman Rabbi, reporter for the Desh Rupantor newspaper
• Masud Parvez Anis, reporter for the Bhorer Kagoj newspaper
• Saiful Rudra, special correspondent for the broadcaster Green TV
• Arju, camera operator for Green TV, who was identified by one name
• Hamidur Rahman, reporter for the Share Biz newspaper
• Maruf, a freelance journalist identified by one name

CPJ is investigating a report of a separate attack on at least one journalist on Saturday.

CPJ contacted BNP spokesperson Zahir Uddin Swapan, Information Minister and Awami League Joint Secretary Hasan Mahmud, and Dhaka Metropolitan Police Commissioner Habibur Rahman for comment, but did not immediately receive any replies.

This content originally appeared on Committee to Protect Journalists and was authored by Committee to Protect Journalists.