Active July protesters were targeted for headshots, police fired most: Study

Law enforcement agencies deliberately targeted protesters with headshots during last year's July uprising, causing dozens of fatalities, according to a new study presented at a rights-focused panel discussion in Dhaka today (9 July).

The study, titled "They Aimed at Our Heads: Anatomy of Targeted Headshots & State-sponsored Violence in Bangladesh's 2024 Mass Uprising", suggests that lethal force was used to suppress dissent and silence active demonstrators.

The findings show that at least 57 protesters were killed by gunfire, with the majority of fatal headshots attributed to the police. 

The panel discussion titled "The Anatomy of Headshot: State-sponsored Violence and the Lethal Suppression of Protesters during the July Uprising", was organised by rights-based think tank Sapran (Safeguarding All Lives) at the Bishwo Shahitto Kendro in Dhaka.

The event highlighted how, during the mass uprising of July-August 2024, law enforcement agencies and state-backed groups systematically targeted protesters with headshots. 

The discussion also critically examined the unregulated use of lethal force by security forces, the prevailing culture of impunity, and how a fascist state ideology enables and legitimises such violence and brutality.

Most of the headshot deaths took place in Dhaka division, at least 51, with the victims primarily being active protesters, bystanders, and in some cases, passersby caught in the clashes, the report found.

Among the recorded cases, 31 headshot deaths were linked to police, three to the Rapid Action Battalion, and one to the army near Jamuna Future Park in Dhaka.

Activists from the ruling Awami League and its affiliated wings – Jubo League and Chhatra League – were reportedly responsible for at least eight headshot killings, while the perpetrators in 11 cases remain unidentified.

Sapran's investigation revealed that military-grade firearms such as Chinese AK-47s, Type 56 semi-automatic rifles, SKS rifles, BD-08 rifles, and 7.62 mm bullets were used. 

"Less-lethal" weapons, including 12-gauge shotguns loaded with pellets, were also used to quell the protests. 

While the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) was also found to have used live ammunition, the number of headshot deaths caused by the force remains unconfirmed.

Speaking at the panel discussion, Sapran researcher Zeba Sajida Saraf highlighted the broader pattern of violence, and explained how authoritarian regimes strategically use violence as a tool to suppress dissent and consolidate power. 

She also discussed the policy recommendations proposed by Sapran.

The study called for legal reforms and enhanced powers for the National Human Rights Commission, along with the creation of an independent police commission and whistleblower protections.

Family members of victims shared harrowing accounts of state brutality. Md Solaiman Topu, brother of protester Md Atiqur Rahman, recounted how people of all ages joined the protests in Kajla, Jatrabari. "Even children and the elderly stood together. The police shot my brother dead. We demand justice," he said.

Sirajul Islam, brother of Mohd Sajidur Rohman Omor, said their family was still mourning. "Our mother cries for him every day. She used to say she wished he never grew up – and now he's gone."

Academic and public figures at the event also criticised the state's response.

Dr Bokhtiar Ahmed, professor at Independent University, Bangladesh, described the crackdown as "a massacre the state was preparing for over 15 years". 

He said, "The barrel of the gun has become the source of power. This is the dictator's drug."

Dr Rezwana Karim Snigdha, associate professor at Jahangirnagar University, stated, "By targeting the head, the state is not just killing individuals – it's eliminating ideas." 

She pointed to the use of inflammatory labels such as "razakar" and "anti-liberation" to legitimise killings.

Journalist Zina Tasreen called for transparency in the procurement and use of weapons by law enforcement, stressing the need for accountability.

Sadman Rizwan Apurbo, lecturer at BRAC University, argued that the government acted outside constitutional and international legal frameworks. 

"The state killed its citizens in cold blood," he said. "You'd expect civil servants to act with professionalism, but police officers acted like party enforcers."

Sapran concluded that urgent structural reforms are needed to prevent such violence from recurring, and called on civil society to prioritise police reform as a key democratic issue.