Journalist hacked to death in Bangladesh

— Unidentified men hacked a journalist to death, apparently for his reports on the illegal drug trade in southwestern Bangladesh, police said Saturday.

The attack on Zamal Uddin took place late Friday at Kashipur Bazar in Jessore district bordering India, said local police chief A.K.M. Faruk Hossain. The area is 85 miles west of the capital, Dhaka.

Witnesses reported that assailants armed with sharpedged weapons swooped on Uddin while he was having tea at a roadside tea stall, Hossain said.

Hossain said the reporter was rushed to hospital with severe injuries and later declared dead.

Uddin, who worked for the Bengali-language Gramer Kagoj daily, was apparently killed for his reporting, Hossain said.

The journalist had recently filed a complaint with police seeking security after he was threatened for his articles on the illicit drug trade.

Local journalists planned to protest his slaying later Saturday, said Asaduzzaman Asad, president of the local Sharsha Press Club.

The New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists has branded Bangladesh as among the worst nations in the world in combating violence against the members ofthe press.

The organization says at least 12 journalists have died in the South Asian nation since 1992.

Front Section, Pages 9 on 06/17/2012

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