Death threats have been made against TV journalist Farid Alam by the underground Islamist group Jamayetul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) following the publication of Alam's book Islamic Militancy: Bangladesh Context, according to Reporters sans Frontières.
Blamed by JMB for the death sentence imposed on its leader, Alam fled the country and is currently in exile in Europe. The death threats were made on February 3, three days after the publicaiton of his book, a compilation of reports and commentaries about the growth of militant Islamism in Bangladesh.
"JMB's militants are again behaving aggressively towards journalists," RSF said. "We urge the police to investigate these threats and protect those in danger."
JMB sent letters, threatening Alam, to Channel 1 television, to his home in Dhaka, and to the village where he was born in Tangail District. Alam, who has worked for Channel 1, NTV and the Amader Shomoy daily newspaper, was also threatened in several phone calls.
Some journalists were among the wounded when a detained JMB militant being presented to the press managed to set off a grenade on 20 February at Gazipur police station, 30 km north of Dhaka.
