Abu Sayeed was targeted from beginning of movement: Fellow protester

Abu Sayeed, killed during the anti-discrimination movement, had been a target from the beginning, according to Momtaz Soma, a fellow student and protester from Begum Rokeya University in Rangpur.

Abu Sayeed became a martyr on 16 July, but he had already been attacked before, she said, reflecting on her experience in the movement at a webinar today.

"On 13 July, when Begum Rokeya University students brought out a procession, Chhatra League members assaulted Sayeed because he was leading the movement. He had been targeted for some time," said Soma.  

Under the leadership of the university's Chhatra League President Pomel Barua, propaganda was spread, leading to attacks on the students, she added.

Soma recounted that on the day Sayeed was shot dead, he had several confrontations with the police, who had a list of key protest leaders and they targeted those they thought were behind the movement.

Though the term "coordinator" wasn't well known then, Sayeed was indeed a coordinator, said Soma, who was also among the protesters.  

"Around 3pm, we heard that Sayeed had been shot and martyred," she said. "We couldn't even bring his body back to campus, and when the administration ordered us to vacate the halls, it felt like we were fleeing the site of his martyrdom."

The webinar, "Facing Death: Experiences of Anti-Discrimination Student Protesters", was organised by the Forum for Bangladesh Studies. Students from various universities who had participated in the movement shared their experiences. The event was moderated by journalist Monir Haider. 

Fahim Shahriar, a student of Dhaka University, said the movement wasn't initially aimed at overthrowing the government, but it emerged from that pent-up frustration seeing all the corruption, disappearances, killings, and lack of voting rights. 

Fahim Shahriar said he was targeted for his role as a coordinator. He also faced threats and surveillance from intelligence agencies that collected information on him and his family.

"When the movement peaked, I visited Nahid and Asif at Gonoshasthaya Kendra. They lacked money for food, so I helped them. Even then, intelligence officers followed me, and I learned there were orders to shoot us. I spent those days on the run," said Fahim.

Abdul Aziz, a student of Jahangirnagar University who led protests in Uttara, said they were holding peaceful demonstrations on 18 July near Uttara BNS Centre but the police used sound grenades, tear gas, rubber bullets, and live rounds. 

"Nonetheless, 250 to 300 students bravely put up resistance, confronting gunfire from police on the rooftops. Many were martyred or injured, and the casualties were overwhelming," he added. 

Describing the horror, Aziz recounted, "Those leading the protests were targeted for death. A bullet struck the back of my head, and another grazed my forehead, shattering my glasses. A grenade blast damaged my eardrum and nerves. They aimed for my head." 

He said students eventually rescued him, taking him to the hospital by rickshaw, but that rickshaw-puller was also martyred. "My two fellow protesters were shot, but the bullets hit those in front of them, who were also killed."

Other speakers at the webinar included Hafez Kamrul Hasan Khan from Madinatul Ulum Madrasah, Md Sayem Khan from East West University, Toufik Ahmed from Azizul Haque College in Bogura, and Md Mahmudul Hasan from the International Islamic University Malaysia.