20/07/2024
Deadly Crackdown on Bangladeshi Protests Continues: Death Toll Rises to 138
Dhaka, Bangladesh - At least 25 people were killed on Saturday in yet another day of deadly violence in Bangladesh, stemming from a ferocious government crackdown on a student movement that has morphed into widespread anti-government protests. According to a count by Netrawnews contributor on the ground who spoke to hospitals across the country and a separate count of five additional deaths by a Dhaka-based newspaper, the violence shows no sign of abating.
Eighteen of the killings on Saturday took place during the day, while two people who were critically injured on Friday died in intensive care in a hospital. An additional five deaths from Narsingdi, a district close to Dhaka, were privately verified by a Dhaka-based daily.
According to Netranews and Associate Press, the total revised tally of confirmed deaths is 138 — a figure likely to be a conservative count, according to journalists on the ground. Hospitals face increased pressure from authorities to limit cooperation with reporters.
The police, more than any other government agency on the ground, appear more aggressive in curbing the protesters. Some protesters have responded with retaliation, setting fire to several police vehicles and police stations. According to some 800 inmates fled from a prison in Narsingdi, a district north of the capital, after protesters stormed the facility and set it on fire Friday.
Following intense violence on Friday, the Bangladesh government introduced a curfew, ordered a so-called “shoot-at-sight” policy, and deployed the army to tame the protest while an all-out Internet shutdown remained in effect.
Bangladesh last witnessed such emergency measures in 2007 during a caretaker regime, when an emergency declaration coupled with army deployment brought calm in two days. However, this bout of unrest appears to continue unabated as public anger spreads from students to the transport sector and other working-class segments of society.
Disappearances Feared in Crackdown on Protest Leaders
After we reported earlier that a key leader of the anti-discrimination student movement, Nahid Islam, and former Dhaka University student union leader Nurul Haq Nur was detained, several members of their families have allegedly been “held hostage” as a pressure tactic, according to Nahid and Nur’s relatives and colleagues who spoke to Netra News.
Meanwhile, BBC Bangla reports that while an unnamed police official privately acknowledged detaining Nahid Islam, a spokesperson for the Dhaka Metropolitan Police, Faruk Hossain, denied knowing anything about his arrest.
Nahid’s father, Badrul Islam, told BBC Bangla that more than 18 hours after the arrest, the police refused to reveal his whereabouts.
Bangladeshi laws mandate that any individual detained must be presented before a court within 24 hours.
The denial and refusal by police to acknowledge a detainment are often seen as preludes to enforced disappearance.
Nahid’s colleagues told Netra News that several others of their peers have been detained without any acknowledgment in what they called acts of “enforced disappearance.”
Military Largely Restrained Despite ‘Shoot-at-Sight’ Orders
The army, which has been deployed alongside the curfew, appears to have not taken a harsh stance so far, the phone call from the Dhaka city residence.
There are army checkpoints at various places in the capital, where army personnel check the identity cards of people on the streets and use loudspeakers to instruct everyone to stay indoors. Apart from Rampura and Shanir Akhra, the army has not been seen taking an aggressive stance in the capital.
The army’s posture is significant because Obaidul Quader, the Awami League party secretary, and a top cabinet minister, told the local press that the curfew and the deployment of the armed forces signify a “shoot-at-sight” policy at “miscreants.”
Global Protests and Reactions
On the other side of the world, massive protests are being held by Bangladeshi American students in the US. Demonstrations have taken place in front of the UN headquarters, Times Square, the US State Department, and various university campuses. New York City Mayor Eric Adams has expressed concern regarding the student killings in Bangladesh. Human rights activist Imran Ansary claimed that what is happening in Bangladesh is undoubtedly "mass killing" and urged the UN to take necessary action to save Bangladeshi students.
