Associated Press (AP) photo journalist AM Ahad sustained severe injuries following an attack by unidentified assailants while covering the student protests demanding safe roads in the Dhanmondi area on Sunday.
Ahad and some other photojournalists were on duty on the Mirpur road when a procession full of unidentified men approached from the New Market side towards the Dhaka City College area, witnesses said.
The photojournalists were taking photographs of the procession standing by the foot-over bridge, when participants of the procession asked them not to take any photos and threatened them.
As the photographers kept taking photos, the activists, allegedly from the ruling party’s student body, chased Ahad and caught up with him on the Mirpur road.
They mercilessly beat Ahad with bamboo sticks and iron rods, in front of the Dhaka City College, as seen on a 56 second video footage circulated on social media.
Ahad repeatedly begged the men to spare him but beatings continued till he managed to escape but the assailants were able to grab his camera and smash it.
He was later taken to the emergency unit at Lab Aid Hospital where doctors gave him primary treatment and recommended six x-rays, saying that Ahad had sustained serious injuries to his head that needed stitches. He also sustained injuries to his legs and back.
He was later taken home.
