the trial as they began to get scared of testifying. Also, in 2006 the case was transferred from the local district court to Dhaka Speedy Tribunal Court 1 for an expedited after being pressured by local journalists—the speedy trial lasted for seven years. The case lasted for several years after a defendant challenged the legality of the transfer. The legal system in Bangladesh is sure the men prosecuted are the killers behind Das' murder, but what remains unknown is whether or not they were also the masterminds based on the police investigation, witnesses, and confessions from the convicted. Of the nine prosecuted for Das' murder, eight were junior politicians belonging to the opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party. Impact Gautam Das' case is considered a landmark for Bangladesh journalists, as this is the first ever case to prosecute the murderer of a journalist in the country. Following the murder, the International Press Institute claimed the many journalists killed over the past twenty years has compromised their freedom of speech in Bangladesh. Bulbul of the CPJ claims "this is the beginning of the end of the culture of impunity that exists for journalist murders in Bangladesh." Overall, several local journalists in Gautam's surrounding area found that the verdict of his murder was a landmark, being the first time Bangladeshi court had ever successfully prosecuted a murder of a journalist. Reactions Just two days after the murder of Das, journalist groups around the country of Bangladesh protested the killing and even protested the government for not doing more to protect the press from acts such as this. Koïchiro Matsuura, the director-general of UNESCO said, "I condemn the brutal assassination of Gautam Das. I am shocked by the brutal killing of this young reporter and wish to support the large number of Bangladeshi journalists and other professionals who have been calling for the arrest and trial of the perpetrators of this crime. It draws some comfort from the fact that so many people in Bangladesh realize that this crime affects their society as a whole in view of essential role journalists play in sustaining democracy and rule of law." During Das' funeral, the town was filled with hundreds of people who came to fill the streets and hold rallies demanding exemplary punishment for the killers. Of the rallies, several organizations in Bangladesh participated, such as Bangladesh Federal Union of Journalists, Dhaka Union of Journalists, Jatiya