5 min readDec 19, 2025 01:11 PM IST
First published on: Dec 19, 2025 at 01:10 PM IST
Angry protesters set fire to the offices of Bangladesh’s two most prominent newspapers late Thursday, trapping journalists and staff inside, following the death of a key activist linked to last year’s political uprising.
Buildings housing the Bangla newspaper, Prothom Alo, and the English newspaper, Daily Star, were torched after crowds forced their way into the premises. Journalists and other employees were evacuated several hours later. Firefighters could bring the blazes under control only early Friday, the Associated Press reported.
Bangladesh Violence News Live Updates
The attacks came amid months of protests by Islamist groups outside the offices of the two dailies, accusing them of maintaining links with India.
The violence followed the death of Sharif Osman Hadi, a spokesperson for the cultural group Inqilab Moncho, who died at a hospital in Singapore late Thursday after battling his injuries for a week. Hadi had been shot last Friday while riding in a rickshaw on the streets of Dhaka.
According to local media, hundreds of protesters poured into the streets of the capital soon after news of Hadi’s death broke, gathering at Shahbagh Square near Dhaka University and chanting slogans including “Allahu Akbar.” Similar protests were reported in other parts of the country.
Later in the night, protesters gathered outside Prothom Alo’s headquarters in Dhaka’s Karwan Bazar area, vandalised the building and set it ablaze, according to local media. A short distance away, another group forced its way into the Daily Star offices and set that building on fire.
Soldiers and paramilitary border guards were deployed outside both buildings but failed to intervene in time to disperse the crowds, reported Associated Press. Security officials attempted to persuade protesters to leave peacefully as firefighters battled the flames. The fire at the Daily Star trapped staff members working inside late Thursday. One journalist, Zyma Islam, wrote on Facebook that she was inside the building, saying she could not breathe because of the smoke.
By early Friday, the fires were brought under control. Both newspapers halted updates to their online editions after the attacks and did not publish print editions on Friday, the AP reported.
Protesters also targeted Chhayanaut, a leading cultural institution regarded as a liberal symbol, in Dhaka’s Dhanmondi neighbourhood. Dozens of demonstrators remained at Shahbagh Square on Friday morning, vowing to continue protests. Authorities said Hadi’s body would be brought back to Dhaka from Singapore on Friday evening.
Sharif Osman Hadi’s death led to protests
The shooting that led to Hadi’s death remains under investigation but has heightened tensions in the country. Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International have recently raised concerns over human rights violations in Bangladesh.
Interim leader Muhammad Yunus, who took office three days after former prime minister Sheikh Hasina was ousted in August 2024, pledged in a televised address late Thursday to bring those responsible for Hadi’s killing to justice. He declared Saturday a national day of mourning and appealed for calm.
Critics of Yunus, along with Hasina’s Awami League party, have blamed the interim administration for a growing Islamist influence in Bangladesh, a parliamentary democracy with a long history of political violence. The interim government has banned all activities of the Awami League, including its participation in the parliamentary election scheduled for February, the Associated Press reported.
In this screengrab from a video received on Dec. 19, 2025, firefighters inside the charred office of Bangla newspaper ‘Prothom Alo’ after an attack by protesters following the death of Sharif Osman Hadi, in Dhaka. Hadi, a prominent leader of the July Uprising who was shot last week, died while undergoing treatment at a Singapore hospital after fighting for his life for six days. 
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