Journalist Zulkarnain’s brother beaten up, case filed

The brother of UK-based Bangladeshi journalist Zulkarnain Saer Khan Sami, who worked with Al Jazeera's Investigative Unit (I-Unit), was assaulted by a group in the capital's Mirpur area last week.

The victim Mahinur Ahmed Khan, 37, filed a case against the four unidentified men with Mirpur Police Station yesterday, Mohammad Mohsin, officer-in-charge of Mirpur Police Station, told The Daily Star.

In the case statement, Mahinur, an entrepreneur, said four unknown men suddenly surrounded him at 8:00pm on March 17 when he went out for groceries beside his house in West Shewrapara area and started beating him with iron rods and sticks.

He was treated at a city hospital.

A family member of Mahinur said he had no enmity with anyone. They also believe that Mahinur was attacked because of his brother's reports against the government.

Meanwhile in a statement yesterday, the acting US embassy spokesperson Bryan Schiller said the embassy is aware that Mahinur Ahmed was attacked.

"We hope the case is thoroughly investigated and the perpetrators are brought to justice," he said.

Mahinur's brother Zulkarnain was one of the journalists who worked with Al Jazeera's Investigative Unit (I-Unit) on "All the Prime Minister's Men".

Besides, he also worked with the Haaretz, an Israeli newspaper and the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP), a global network of investigative journalists.