At the Supreme Court, police physically attacked journalists.

While covering the Supreme Court Bar Association elections, several journalists were severely injured by police baton cahrge while they were carrying out their professional duties.

Among those injured were Javed Akhtar of ATN News, Jannatul Ferdous Tanvi of Independent Television, Noor Mohammad of Ajkar newspaper, Fazlul Haque Mridha of Jago News, Solaiman Swapan of Zaham TV, Mehdi Hasan Mim of DBC, and Ibrahim of Baishakhi TV. Javed Akhtar was initially taken to Dhaka Medical College Hospital before being transferred to the private hospital Health and Hope in Panthapath.

The incident occurred on Wednesday when the police suddenly intervened during a commotion caused by pro-Awami-BNP lawyers at the polling station in Shaheed Shafiur Rahman Auditorium of Samiti Bhavan, where the voting was scheduled to begin at 10 am. The commotion among the lawyers started around 11:30 am, leading to police intervention and subsequent attacks on both sides. The police also targeted the journalists who were present at the scene to cover the news.

According to senior reporter Ashutosh Sarkar from the Daily Star, the President of the Supreme Court reportedly assaulted the Law Reporters Forum (LRF), an organization of journalists. During the incident, Sarkar introduced himself while performing his professional duties, but he was still attacked by the police. Chief Justice Hasan Foez Siddique and other judges from the Appellate Division were present at the time and were made aware of the attack. The Chief Justice instructed the LRF to file a written complaint, which later submitted.

The Law Reporters Forum (LRF) has expressed its condemnation of the assault on journalists by the Supreme Court. In a statement issued by the organization and distributed by various media outlets, it was reported that the incident occurred in the meeting hall of the Supreme Court Lawyers Association. When media personnel arrived to report on the event, they were attacked by the police without warning. Despite possessing identification cards and media equipment, the journalists were subjected to physical assault and prevented from gathering news. The police used abusive language towards the journalists, and the attack resulted in injuries to at least 12 media workers. The journalists left the auditorium, but two cameramen were detained by the police, only to be released later.

The LRF’s president, Ashutosh Sarkar, and general secretary, Ahmed Sarwar Hossain, demanded punishment for the police officers involved in the attack in a circular.