The High Court has directed the government to declare the United Nations’ July fact-finding report on rights violations during Bangladesh’s July 2024 uprising as a “historic document” and issue a gazette notification to that effect within three months.
The order was passed on Thursday by a bench comprising Justice Fahmida Kader and Justice Mubina Asaf after hearing a writ petition filed by Advocate Md Tanvir Ahmed.
Deputy Attorney General Shafiqul Rahman, DAG Tanim Khan, and Assistant Attorney General Ikramul Kabir represented the state.
Speaking to reporters after the verdict, AAG Kabir said, “The court has instructed that the UN report be declared a historic document and published as ‘July Revolution 2024’ in the official gazette. The writ petition will also remain ongoing to ensure that no future elected government can influence the judicial process.”
Advocate Tanvir Ahmed had filed the writ on August 13 last year, seeking directions to hold accountable those responsible for “sustaining the genocidal and autocratic regime.” He later submitted supplementary applications, including one in May this year specifically requesting that the UN report be declared a historic record.
The UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) released the report in February, based on evidence gathered between July 1 and August 15, 2024. Investigators interviewed victims, including many who were severely injured, and documented widespread human rights violations.
According to the report, multiple crackdowns on student-led protests—including extrajudicial killings and indiscriminate shootings—were carried out under the directives and supervision of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. The OHCHR concluded that security forces had deliberately and unlawfully killed or maimed protesters, with incidents of close-range shootings.
The fact-finding mission stated it had “credible grounds to believe” that the former government, in coordination with security and intelligence agencies aligned with the Awami League, systematically engaged in grave rights abuses. These included hundreds of extrajudicial killings, thousands of arbitrary arrests, enforced disappearances, torture, and mistreatment of detainees—acts that may amount to crimes against humanity under international law.
The report estimated, based on multiple reliable sources, that more than 1,400 people were killed between July 1 and August 15, mostly due to lethal weapons, including military rifles and shotguns, used by security forces.
Over 11,700 people were reportedly arrested during this period, while thousands sustained serious injuries. Disturbingly, 12–13 percent of those killed were children. The OHCHR noted that police and security forces targeted minors for killings, arbitrary detention, and torture.
Women and girls, many of whom were at the forefront of protests, were also subjected to violence by both security forces and Awami League supporters. This included gender-based violence, threats of rape, and in some cases, sexual assault.
The report further highlighted the role of state institutions such as the DGFI, NSI, NTMC, and police intelligence units, which directly participated in rights violations, carried out mass surveillance, and facilitated indiscriminate arrests. Detention facilities, including the CTTC headquarters, were allegedly used as makeshift prisons where student leaders were pressured to abandon protests. Security agencies were also accused of obstructing emergency medical care for the wounded by intimidating doctors, interrogating patients, and even arresting the injured from hospitals.
The High Court’s declaration ensures that the UN report will remain part of Bangladesh’s official historical record under the title “July Revolution 2024,” marking a crucial step toward accountability for the mass human rights violations of last year.
