WHAT IS HAPPENING AT THE QUOTA-REFORM PROTESTS IN BANGLADESH?

On 15 July 2024, students of Dhaka University were sitting with placards and flags in a peaceful protest calling for reforms on the quota allocation for government jobs in Bangladesh.  Suddenly, they were attacked by individuals armed with rods, sticks and clubs with a few even brandishing revolvers. Within hours, a pattern emerged across the country with similar attacks coordinated by people believed to be members of the Bangladesh Chatra League (BCL), a group affiliated with the ruling Awami League (AL), against student protesters.

By the afternoon of16 July, police fired tear gas and charged with batons drawn at protesters in front of Begum Rokeya University in the north-western city of Rangpur where students had gathered, led by the protest coordinator Abu Sayed among others.

What happened to Abu Sayed?

Abu Sayed, a student of English at the Rangpur’s Begum Rokeya University, stood his ground. As the police closed in, he spread his arms wide open, in a moment of defiance.

In a seemingly intentional and unjustifiable attack, the police fired directly at his chest.

At least two police officers discharged 12-gauge shotguns directly towards him from across the street – a distance of merely 15 meters.

Sayed clutched his chest on impact as officers fired at least two more times using birdshot,  ammunition that is designed for hunting which is extremely dangerous, inherently inaccurate and thus unlawful for use in the policing of protests.

Sayed posed no apparent physical threat to the police.

Sayed’s death certificate states he was ‘brought dead’ to the hospital.

He was just 25 years old.

The video of Sayed’s brutal killing sparked outrage and became a symbol of the violence directed at protesters in Bangladesh since 15 July 2024.

©Jamuna TV

What happened to the protesters? 

By 18th July, 32 deaths were reported as the authorities continued to attack the protesters. The highest number of deaths reported in a single day was 75 – on 19 July. The Government proposed a discussion, but the protesters rejected it in the face of a mounting death toll.

Not only protesters, but journalists and bystanders too were assaulted and killed during the crackdown.

Then the entire country went offline when the government imposed a communication blackout, leaving the world to guess what was happening. In the days to follow, the notorious Rapid Action Battalion (RAB), the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB), and the Army were deployed across the country and a “shoot at sight” curfew was imposed.

Five days later, internet restrictions were partially lifted. More than 200 people had been killed in less than 10 days and thousands more injured. Few countries have witnessed such a death toll in such a short duration of time. According to media reports, at least 2,500 people have also been arbitrarily arrested and around 61,000 protesters named as accused persons in cases.

Why are people protesting?

Students are protesting in response to the reinstatement of a quota that reserves 30 percent of government jobs for children of independence war veterans (and which they argue favours supporters of the ruling party). This quota was cancelled by the government in response to massive student protests in 2018. Following the filing of a written petition by a group of relatives of the war veterans, the High Court of Bangladesh reinstated the 30% quota system at the end of June. Amidst the protests, curfew and internet shut down, on 21 July, the Supreme Court issued an order to reduce the quota from 30 percent to 5 percent. The protests continue in pockets, with protesters demanding justice and accountability for those who were killed, injured and arrested during the last few weeks.  

© Zabed Hasnain Chowdhury/NurPhoto via Getty Images

How are authorities violating human rights during the protests?

Unlawful use of force

Authorities resorted to a range of tactics to punitively respond to the student protesters, including the unlawful use of lethal and less-lethal weapons in the policing of protests in Bangladesh, leading to hundreds of deaths. Security forces, including the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB), the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB), as well as the police, have unlawfully used both lethal and less lethal weapons (including 12-gauge shotguns loaded with birdshot, 37/38mm grenade launchers, AK-pattern assault rifles and Chinese type 56-1 assault rifle) and tear gas against protesters as verified by Amnesty International.

Arbitrary arrests and detentions

The authorities are conducting arbitrary arrests and detentions of protesters, activists and members of the public. The authorities have also subjected journalists to violence and disrupted their efforts to report freely and safely. Authorities also issued a blanket ban on protests further restricting the rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly.

Recent media reports state that security forces have conducted raids and mass arrests targeting students and opposition activists across many neighborhoods. In a virtual press conference, a coordinator of the anti-discrimination student movement alleged that over 3,500 students have been arbitrarily detained across the country.

Internet shutdown

 The authorities imposed a total shutdown of the internet across the country on the 18th of July cutting the country off from the rest of the world. Five days later the internet shutdown was partially lifted in some parts of the country on the 23rd of July.

Shutting down the internet was a reckless step during a week of escalating violence and state suppression of human rights – a time when access to reliable information is critical.

Blanket shutdowns impact people’s safety, security, mobility and livelihoods while creating instability and panic, further undermining their trust in the authorities.

Callous violence

Further in multiple videos from 18 July, the unconscious body of Shykh Aashhabul Yamin, a student at the Military Institute of Science and Technology, was seen on top of an Armoured Personnel Carrier (APC) driving down the Dhaka-Aricha Highway. In three videos verified by Amnesty International, officers can be seen violently yanking Yamin’s body down off the APC, causing Yamin’s head to hit the pavement as his body fell. Eventually other officers can be seen dragging his body over the road’s median barriers, and eventually driving away leaving Yamin’s body on the road. News reports claim that Yamin died later that day from his injuries. None of the 12 officers visible attempted to provide medical aid to Yamin.  Section 5(c) of the United Nations Basic Principle on the Use of Force and Firearms by Law Enforcement Officials requires law enforcement officials to ensure that assistance and medical aid are rendered to any injured or affected persons at the earliest possible moment.

This incident illustrated the callous disregard for the right to life and the abject failure by law enforcement officials to uphold their obligations under domestic and international human rights law.

© ISHARA S. KODIKARA/AFP via Getty Images

What is Amnesty doing?

Since the start of the July 2024 Bangladesh protests, we have consistently documented crimes under international law and other serious human rights violations committed by the Bangladeshi authorities in protest-related crackdowns.

So far we have verified and documented:

• Unlawful use of lethal and less lethal weapons resulting in violations of the rights to life and to freedom from torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment of punishment;
• Failure to provide medical assistance to injured protesters;
• Mass arbitrary arrests and detentions.

 We won’t stop investigating the crimes committed by the Bangladeshi authorities during, and in the aftermath of, the student uprising and calling for Bangladeshi officials to be held to account.

What can you do to help protesters in Bangladesh?

All the above actions are shocking evidence of how Bangladeshi authorities are committing serious human rights violations with impunity.  Bangladeshi authorities have failed to protect and facilitate protest and dissent. They must immediately end their repressive measures which are a deliberate attempt to crush protests and any future dissent.

Bangladeshi diaspora throughout the world have come out to demand an end to the repression and high death toll. Some have been arrested, and unjustly sentenced in mass trials, as in the UAE. We must stand in solidarity with protesters and all those who continue to demand justice and accountability, despite the risks.

Throughout history, peaceful protest has played a pivotal role in the achievement of many of our rights and freedoms and yet across the world today, repressive laws and policies combined with unjustified practices and abusive use of policing measures are creating a toxic environment that poses a serious threat to peaceful protesters and protests. There are clear parallels in the way authorities are deterring, vilifying, criminalizing and punishing people who peacefully protest in Europe, Americas, Africa and Asia. It’s time for people across the world to come together to protect the protest.

An abridged version of this piece was published in The Diplomat.