Bangladesh faces demand for justice over ‘unlawful killings’ during student protests

Among the calls by UN experts, human rights advocates and protesters is for Bangladesh’s home and law ministers to be prosecuted

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Protesters clash with Border Guard Bangladesh and the police outside the state-owned Bangladesh Television as violence erupts across the country after anti-quota protests by students, in Dhaka. Photo: Reuters

Published: 4:30pm, 26 Jul 2024

As a young man desperately drags an injured compatriot away from a group of armed police, an officer opens fire thrice at the wounded youth.

His confused companion abandons his motionless body and flees.

The events captured in a viral clip allegedly took place in the Shonir Akhra area of Dhaka, Bangladesh, during violent student demonstrations that had rocked the country for weeks.

Protesters were decrying “discriminatory” quotas for government jobs. The alleged police killing in the clip was among dozens of similar videos that have surfaced on social media in recent days after internet services were restored in some areas.

Following the violence, critics and protesters have called for accountability from the government. Human rights group Amnesty International said on Thursday: “Bangladeshi authorities have continued to use unlawful force against student protesters.

“The continued verification and analysis by Amnesty International of video and photographic evidence that is trickling out of Bangladesh provides a grim picture.”

A woman cries after receiving the remains of her son, who was shot during clashes between the police and anti-job quota protesters, at a morgue in Dhaka on July 22. Photo: AP