On July 20, 2024, armed individuals affiliated with the Awami League assaulted Comilla University (CU) students who were holding an anti-discrimination movement protest on campus.

The attack occurred as several dozen CU students moved their protest from the university towards the Dhaka-Chattogram highway. The attackers used sticks and rods to prevent the students from advancing.

The violence took place 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 a violent attack on student protesters. Students and members of the public must refrain from violence, especially on campus, and respect the right to freedom of association and freedom of expression, and university authorities must take reasonable measures to ensure safe conditions for living, learning, and expression for students. In addition to harm to the immediate victims, violent attacks on students undermine academic freedom and democratic society generally.

Sources:
*SAR identified this incident in data made publicly available by the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED)
https://www.newagebd.net/post/country/241140/arrests-clashes-mark-fresh-student-protests-in-many-areas-of-bangladesh
https://www.tbsnews.net/bangladesh/students-attacked-armed-men-cu-during-protests-push-home-9-point-demand-905831
https://www.thedailystar.net/news/bangladesh/news/protesters-take-streets-again-3664961