In a harrowing display of press intimidation, twenty-eight staff members of Bangladesh’s leading English-language newspaper, The Daily Star, endured a four-hour rooftop siege after a violent mob set their Dhaka headquarters ablaze on December 18th.
The incident unfolded as investigative reporter Zyma Islam was finalizing her coverage of Sharif Osman Hadi’s assassination—a prominent youth leader whose death had ignited political tensions. Without evidence, protesters accused The Daily Star and its Bengali-language sister publication Prothom Alo of complicity in Hadi’s killing and amplifying anti-India sentiments.
As midnight passed, the building was stormed by assailants hurling bricks and incendiary devices. Islam and colleagues barricaded themselves on the ninth-floor rooftop, using potted plants to secure the entrance while smoke engulfed the structure. ‘The smoke wasn’t grey; it was black. I couldn’t see my own hand,’ Islam recounted in her firsthand account.
Trapped journalists resorted to wet cloths against toxic fumes as colleagues embedded in the crowd warned of armed attackers ‘planning an assassination.’ After enduring psychological torment and near-asphyxiation, military forces orchestrated a daring 4:30 AM rescue involving a smoke-choked stairwell descent and escape over a rear wall.
The newspaper sustained approximately $2 million in damages, including destroyed archives, looted equipment, and a gutted auditorium. Despite this, staff produced an eight-page edition within 15 hours under the headline ‘Unbowed.’
Three months later, investigations remain stagnant with only 37 arrests made initially. Police have identified but not apprehended a key social media instigator, leaving the attack’s masterminds and motivations unresolved.
The event underscores deteriorating press freedoms in Bangladesh, where journalists routinely face threats without institutional protection. Despite physical and psychological trauma, The Daily Star’s team continues reporting—embodying a resilience that transforms survival into defiance.