SAR’s Academic Freedom Monitoring Project investigates and reports attacks on higher education with the aim of raising awareness, generating advocacy, and increasing protection for scholars, students, and academic communities. Starting July 1, 2026, SAR no longer publishes reports for the incidents that it records. SAR continues to monitor and record incidents that will be used in the annual Free to Think report. This page provides a record of incidents reported up to that date. Learn more about the Academic Freedom Monitoring Project.

Date of Incident: July 19, 2024

Attack Types: Killings, Violence, Disappearances

Institution(s):Dhaka University

Region & Country:Southern Asia | Bangladesh

New or Ongoing:New Incident

On July 19, 2024, police abducted Abu Bakar Majumder, a geography student at Dhaka University and one of the coordinators of the anti-discrimination student movement. Mujumder was held and interrogated for four days before being released on July 24.

On the evening of July 19, police abducted Majumder from a residential neighborhood of Dhaka. According to a post that he made on Facebook after his release, during his detention, he was confined in a dark room.

On July 24, Majumdar was released and left blindfolded near a city road, along with another abducted student and national leader of the anti-discrimination movement, Asif Mahmud (see report).

Following his release, Majumdar was admitted to Gonoshasthaya Nagar Hospital for treatment before being abducted for a second time from the hospital on July 26 (see report).

Mujumdar’s abduction occurred against the backdrop of the quota reform movement, a set of widespread student protests that 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. The protests ultimately led to the resignation of Bangladesh’s prime minister Sheikh Hasina and the establishment of a new interim government.

Scholars at Risk is concerned about the detention without charge and alleged torture of a student activist, to retaliate for or prevent the nonviolent exercise of the right to free expression and assembly. State authorities must refrain from actions intended to punish, restrict, or deter the exercise of these rights. Such actions violate fundamental human rights and undermine democracy generally.

Sources:
https://en.banglaoutlook.org/news/234277
https://en.prothomalo.com/bangladesh/dz51fhhcw6
https://www.frontlinedefenders.org/en/profile/abu-bakar-majumder
https://www.civicus.org/index.php/media-resources/news/interviews/7221-bangladesh-the-interim-government-must-ensure-justice-for-the-wrongs-of-the-past-regime