On July 15, 2024, student-led protests on the campus of Dhaka University, which had been ongoing since the prior month, turned violent after police, pro-government students, and paramilitary groups engaged with the protesters. This led to nationwide protests, widespread violence, mass arrests, and ultimately, the sudden departure of the Prime Minister, and her replacement by an interim government.
The protests began on the campus of the University of Dhaka, after a June 5, 2024 ruling by the High Court of Bangladesh reinstating a quota system – previously abolished in 2018 – which allocated government jobs to certain favored groups. Under the system, 30% of government positions went to people who had fought in Bangladesh’s 1971 war of independence from Pakistan and their family members, creating a shortage of sought-after positions for others.
Shortly after they began, the protests spread to other major Bangladeshi universities, and then throughout the country. They reportedly remained peaceful for several weeks. On July 15, however, members of the Chhatra League – the student wing of the ruling party, the Awami League – began attacking protesters on the Dhaka University campus, and in and around Dhaka Medical College Hospital. Police then fired rubber bullets and tear gas to disperse the protesters. More than 100 students were reportedly injured during the initial clashes on the Dhaka University campus; that night, the violence spread to other campuses and elsewhere in Bangladesh. The following day, six people were killed in the violence – at least three of them were students. In response, a number of Bangladesh’s major universities were temporarily shuttered, at the request of the state.
On July 18, the government imposed a curfew and reduced internet access in order to reduce protesters’ ability to organize. The nationwide protests nevertheless continued, and violence and arrests began to mount.
On July 21, the Supreme Court modified the High Court’s decision, significantly reducing the quota of government jobs allocated to people who had fought in the war of independence and their families.
By the end of July, more than 200 people had been killed, and thousands more were injured.
In addition, authorities reportedly engaged in mass arrests of student protesters and others. As of this report, police had reportedly arrested more than 10,000 people for alleged protest-related crimes including arson, theft, trespassing, and property damage, under circumstances that raised serious due process concerns. Many of these arrests were reportedly the result of so-called “block raids” in which police knock on doors in homes late at night, checking for students, and if a student is present, inspecting their phones for signs of illegal protest activity. In many cases, authorities invoked legal provisions allowing for long-term detention of those arrested.
Beyond these arrests, police reportedly have filed criminal cases involving mass allegations against unidentified groups of protesters. According to the New York Times, “[i]n Badda, a township in the north of Dhaka home to many universities, the police said they had filed 10 cases, with 8,000 to 10,000 people accused in each case. In the Mohammadpur area, the police had filed 12 cases, each with 3,000 to 4,000 people being accused. In Lalbagh, the number of accused was 9,000-10,000 and in Mirpur 8,000-9,000, according to police files.” All told, more than 200,000 unidentified individuals had been accused of crimes as part of these cases. In recent cases, similar mass allegations have led to widespread arrests and detentions based on flimsy evidence, raising major due process concerns.
Despite the mass arrests, the protests (and related violence) continued through early August 2024. This ultimately led the country’s Prime Minister, Sheikh Hasina, to flee the country on August 5, leading the way to an interim government.
Scholars at Risk is gravely concerned about widespread violence; mass arrest, detention, and other violations of due process; as well as encroachments on university autonomy by government troops and their supporters. Scholars at Risk calls on all parties to exercise restraint and to avoid further violence. While State authorities have the right and obligation to maintain order, they must do so with due regard for the rights of protesters and others, including the rights to free expression, academic freedom, peaceful assembly, and due process.
Sources
https://www.nytimes.com/article/bangladesh-student-protests.html
https://www.theguardian.com/world/article/2024/aug/01/bangladesh-arrests-protests-crackdown
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/07/30/world/asia/bangladesh-protests-charges-crime.html
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/08/06/world/asia/bangladesh-hasina-final-hours.html
https://apnews.com/article/bangladesh-yunus-hasina-student-protests-8e72489d3f05ab50f1ea4564e5ad23aa