Home Minister pledges measures over police deaths in line with July Charter
The home minister said the government will act in line with the July National Charter on police deaths during the 2024 uprising, citing an ordinance that grants legal protection to participants in the movement.
Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed has said the government will take necessary measures regarding deaths of police personnel during the July Uprising in accordance with the July National Charter, which grants legal and constitutional protection to students and citizens who participated in the 2024 movement that toppled the Sheikh Hasina regime.
"A protection ordinance — the July Mass Uprising (Protection and Liability Determination) Ordinance, 2026 — was issued at the end of the interim government. The basis of the ordinance is an article of the July National Charter. We have signed the charter and pledged to give legal and constitutional protection in line with it. We have taken measures in this regard accordingly," he said.
He made the remarks after a meeting with fire service official at the home ministry at the secretariat today (1 March).
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The minister also clarified that he did not make any comment regarding incidents of police killings in the past.
The Interim Government on 25 January issued the July Mass Uprising (Protection and Liability Determination) Ordinance, 2026, granting indemnity to students and members of the public who took part in the mass movement that led to the fall of the Sheikh Hasina government in 2024.
The ordinance is deemed to have come into effect retrospectively from 1 July 2024, and covers actions carried out between July and August 2024.
Under the ordinance, students and general citizens who participated in the movement are designated as "revolutionaries" (Ganabhuthankari).
It states that all civil and criminal cases filed against participants for incidents during the movement will be withdrawn, and no new cases may be filed in the future over those events. The ordinance also sets out procedures for disposing of pending cases.
If any case or legal proceeding remains active against a participant, the relevant court will immediately withdraw it upon an application by the public prosecutor or a government-appointed lawyer, subject to government certification. Following such an application, the accused will be discharged or acquitted without delay.
