Six months after the mass uprising in Bangladesh, which led to former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina fleeing the country, there is still no comprehensive list of the hundreds killed by law enforcement authorities on 16 July-5 August, 2024. Meanwhile, uncertainty lingers amongst victims’ families regarding whether those responsible will ever be brought to justice through a credible process.
On January 15, the Tech Global Institute, together with the International Truth and Justice Project (ITJP) and the Outsider Movie Company, released an investigative report on 148 killings on just one day – the 19th of July – and two investigative films on the 5th of August.
REPORT: BLOODSHED IN BANGLADESH
This report focuses in depth on just one day of the anti-government protests – 19th July 2024 – and paints a harrowing picture of families, feet literally soaked in blood, forced to search overflowing hospital morgues for their children shot by police. We were on the ground collecting evidence in Bangladesh days after the government fell and interviewed scores of families and eyewitnesses.
The report launched jointly with the ITJP says many of those killed were not even part of the protests, but bystanders and people who happened to live or work close to shooting that was completely indiscriminate. Estimates for the overall death toll during the weeks of protests range from 800 to 1500 and six months on there is still no final death toll. The report however confirmed that on that day at least 148 people were killed – three times more than initially reported. At the time, the government blocked all international phone lines and access to the internet and deployed the army to impose a curfew, making it difficult to collect the information. Among the 148 casualties on 19th July 40 were 18 year or under. Shockingly 54 of the 148 killed on 19 July were shot in the head or throat.
INVESTIGATIVE FILM: JATRABARI – EVIDENCE OF ATROCITIES
This film seeks to reconstruct what happened during anti-government protests in a single locality in the south-east of the Bangladeshi capital Dhaka during a period lasting one hour and a half, on the last day of Sheikh Hasina’s government. It is based on investigative work undertaken by a multidisciplinary team both inside and outside the country. Tech Global Institute led on the forensic investigation of all the digital evidence, including, but not limited to, audio, video and satellite footage. The incident is just one of many involving hundreds of other deaths during the student protests in Bangladesh which need similar forensic examination.
Many details still need to be uncovered about what happened outside Jatrabari police station between 1.56pm and 3.30pm on 5 August 2024, including exactly how many protesters were killed, identifying those who died, and determining which police officers were responsible and who ordered the police action.
This investigation located 19 original videos shot by eyewitnesses to the killings of protesters by the Jatrabari police, and added to this eyewitness testimony and other videos. The video recordings begin by showing police officers in full riot gear exiting Jatrabari police station and firing at protesters, both indiscriminately and also in a targeted manner. The army then arrive on the scene and the police return to the station. In striking contrast to the police, the military hold the crowd back, their weapons pointing downwards, and the protesters cooperate with the soldiers peacefully. The situation seems to be under control with the military appearing to provide a line of protection around the entrance of the Jatrabari police station. Then suddenly a man inside the police compound throws a delayed action sound grenade over the heads of the soldiers at the entrance, who scatter. Someone inside the station urges the armed riot police to move forward; they surge out and immediately start shooting at protesters, who are armed at most with sticks and take cover or try to run away. Protected by the army, the police breakout appears to be unnecessary and unprovoked, and to have directly resulted in the ensuing brutal and indiscriminate killing of protesters with tragic consequences.
INVESTIGATIVE FILM: GAZIPUR – EVIDENCE OF A MURDER
Another film launched on 15 January focuses on the killing of Mohammad Riddoy, a 20-year old man, summarily executed on 5 August 2024 outside Shareef General Hospital, Gazipur. The film starts with protests outside Konabari police station which then erupt into cheers at 1525 hours in the afternoon when news spreads that Sheikh Hasina has fled. The protestors overturn a police vehicle and set it on fire. Riot police emerge from the station and start firing at protestors who flee or take cover. Twenty minutes later the footage shows a young man called Mohammed Riddoy who has been captured by the police. He was a student who became an auto rickshaw driver to fund his education. A group of armed police officers, some in helmets, beat Riddoy and shoot him in the back at point blank range. The police walk away but there are disturbing signs of movement which suggest Riddoy was still alive at this point. Thirty seconds later the police return and are filmed retrieving Riddoy’s body, dragging him past the nearby hospital and in the direction of the Konabari police station, leaving a trail of blood on the ground.
Riddoy has never been seen since; his family have pleaded for the return of his body, but the police have denied all knowledge of its whereabouts. As a result, Mohammad Riddoy’s name is still not on the official list of martyrs.
