Bangladesh: Journalist brutally attacked with machetes

A group of unidentified assailants attempted to hack off the arm of a journalist in Bangladesh on Saturday (19 May). ABM Fazlur Rahman, from daily Samakal was targeted in the brutal attack after reporting on an obscene dance performance at a university in Pabna. Rahman was contacted by an anonymous caller, asking him to visit Govt Edward College campus. Upon his arrival at the campus, he was set upon by four people with machetes. The journalist has received treatment at Pabna Medical College Hospital.

Colombia: Bomb attack on minister-turned-journalist

A former interior minister-turned-journalist was targeted in a bomb attack in Colombia earlier this week. Fernando Londoño Hoyos, who is now a radio station programme director and a columnist for various newspapers, was injured after a bomb was thrown onto his car bonnet in Bogotá. Londoño survived the attack, but his driver and bodyguard were killed and 39 others were injured. It is unclear who was behind the bombing.

Vietnam: Reporters beaten

Two Vietnamese reporters were beaten while covering a local eviction. Nguyen Ngoc Nam and Han Phi Long, from state-run Radio Voice of Vietnam, were kicked and beaten as they attempted to report on the eviction of approximately 1,000 villagers from their farmland. The journalists were attacked by uniformed police, who ignored repeated explanations that they were members of the press. Twenty people were arrested during the clashes between the farmers and the police.

Togo: Police assault journalists, confiscate equipment

Two journalists filming an anti-government march in the Togolese capital Lomé were attacked by police last week. Freelance journalist Noël Kokou Tadegnon, who works for Reuters TV and pan-African satellite broadcaster Vox Africa was attacked by 10 police officers as he filmed security forces firing tear gas at protesters. The journalist was hit in the back of the head and his camera was seized while he was unconscious. Didier Alli, a reporter for the local TV station TV7, attempted to intervene in the attack on Tadegnon, but security forces attacked him, also seizing his camera.