29/07/2026
Cost Of Speech condemns Rajshahi University Central Students’ Union (RUCSU) Vice-President Mostakur Rahman Zahid’s threat of action against journalists over their reporting on violence at Rajshahi University.
At a press conference on July 28, Zahid accused sections of the media of reporting the incident in a one-sided manner and of portraying RUCSU and Islami Chhatra Shibir negatively. He said RUCSU was collecting the reports and that the journalists responsible would “face action.”
He also criticised journalists for describing the violence as an “attack,” insisting that RUCSU members had instead acted in “resistance.”
The exact form of action Zahid was threatening remains unclear. But a student representative publicly warning identifiable journalists of consequences because of the language and editorial judgments used in their reports is inherently intimidating and wholly unacceptable.
RUCSU is entitled to challenge inaccuracies, issue a rebuttal, present evidence, request corrections or pursue remedies available under the law. It is not entitled to pressure journalists into adopting its preferred account of a disputed and violent incident.
The broader events on campus must be investigated impartially. RUCSU has alleged that individuals involved in the dispute attacked its office and injured union leaders. Those claims deserve scrutiny.
At the same time, publicly available video footage reportedly shows RUCSU General Secretary Salauddin Ammar carrying a shovel, striking a person with a stick inside the central library, and several RUCSU or Shibir-linked individuals participating in assaults. Other footage reportedly shows an injured student being pulled from an ambulance and beaten.
Against that evidence, journalists were fully within their professional rights to describe the documented violence as an attack or assault while also reporting RUCSU’s claim that its members acted in self-defence.
No political affiliation—real, alleged or previously held—can justify mob violence. Nor can allegations of bias justify threats against the journalists documenting it.
We call on Mostakur Rahman Zahid to withdraw his statement publicly and clarify what he meant by “action.” Rajshahi University authorities must ensure that no reporter faces harassment, surveillance, administrative pressure, legal intimidation or physical retaliation for covering the incident.
They must also conduct a credible and transparent investigation into all acts of violence that took place on campus and hold every responsible individual accountable, irrespective of organisational affiliation.
Journalists do not answer to student leaders for their choice of accurate terminology. Disputed reporting should be answered with evidence—not threats.
PEN International CPJ Asia / Committee to Protect Journalists Reporters sans frontières / Reporters Without Borders / RSF CIVICUS: World Alliance for Citizen Participation
