31 July 2024: March for Justice turns into a national showdown
On this this day... 31 July 2024
On 31 July last year, the nationwide March for Justice erupted into one of the most intense civilian-state confrontations in recent years, as students, teachers, lawyers, and ordinary citizens took to the streets across Bangladesh demanding justice for killings, enforced disappearances, arbitrary arrests, and torture linked to the ongoing uprising.
The programme was announced the previous night by Abdul Qader, a key coordinator of the Anti-discrimination Student Movement, via Telegram.
He called on people to gather at university campuses, court premises, and key roads across the country by 12:30pm on 31 July, demanding UN-supervised investigations and an apology from then-Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
"We will demand justice against the mass killings, mass arrests, attacks, lawsuits, enforced disappearances, and murders of students across the country. We will also demand a United Nations investigation into the violence," said Mohammad Mahin Sarkar, a coordinator of the movement.
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Protesters responded in large numbers across Dhaka, Sylhet, Chattogram, Khulna, Barishal, Rajshahi, Kushtia, Dinajpur, and Jashore. The demonstrations, however, were met with heavy police resistance.
They [the protestors] have actually orchestrated the violence to overthrow the government, similar to what happened in Sri Lanka."
In Dhaka, students attempting to enter the High Court premises through the Mazar gate were met with teargas, stun grenades and batons. University teachers, including Professor Nusrat Jahan Chowdhury and Shehreen Amin Monami, were shoved while trying to protect students.
Police and BGB personnel surrounded the main gate of the Supreme Court as protesters began assembling around 1pm, chanting slogans for their nine-point demand, including "We want justice" and "Amar bhai kobore, khuni bahire?"
Several students were detained from the area between 12pm and 2pm. A group of DU teachers and around 200 students regrouped at Doyel Chattar and later held a rally at Shaheed Minar.
A 16-year-old was arrested and sent to jail in Abu Sayeed's murder case. The arrestee was identified as Md Alfi Shahriar, an 11th-grader at Rangpur Police Lines School and College.
Former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said, "They [the protestors] have actually orchestrated the violence to overthrow the government, similar to what happened in Sri Lanka."
In Sylhet, students from Shahjalal University of Science and Technology marched towards Subid Bazar around 12:30pm. Police fired teargas and stun grenades, injuring at least 50. Authorities claimed that Jamaat-Shibir activists had infiltrated the protest.
In Khulna, students defied police barricades from Nirala Mor to Royal Mor at 1:40pm. Violent clashes followed near the Sat Rasta intersection. At least 19 were detained.
In Barishal, students were baton-charged around 11am on Kathpatti Road. Five journalists were injured.
In Chattogram, protests at the court building began around 10:30am. Some 500 students and 30 BNP-Jamaat-backed lawyers demonstrated despite police attempts to block the entrances. Minor scuffles occurred between opposing political camps.
Protests also took place in Rajshahi, Kushtia, Jahangirnagar, and Dinajpur. Teachers in Rajshahi from both pro-AL and pro-BNP panels held separate rallies. Jahangirnagar University saw a mass signature campaign demanding the release of arrestees, including coordinator Arif Sohail.
Hundreds of HSC candidates declared they would boycott examinations unless their detained peers were released.
Later that day, a citizen-led probe committee was also formed, while the European Union announced a delay in partnership talks with Bangladesh, indicating growing international concern over the crackdown.
