Unsung Heroes
People whose part in Bangladesh’s uprising of July 2024 was substantial and is documented, but received comparatively little public recognition — what each did, when and where, and who recorded it.
- 7 · an open register
- First documented involvement, then A–Z
A companion to July Heroes, not a ranking, drawing on 11 published sources. Skip to sources
What “Unsung Heroes” means
In this archive an Unsung Hero is a person whose part in the uprising of July and August 2024 was substantial and is documented in published records, but whose record is held in fewer or less visible places — the case files of press-freedom organisations, reports of a single court hearing, local news — rather than in general accounts of July.
The word describes how visible the record is, not the worth of what the person did. It is not a lesser register than July Heroes, and it is not a list of everyone whose part went unrecognised: it holds only the records the archive has been able to check so far.
- July Heroes
- People whose part is already relatively well documented: reported at the time, by name, in sources the archive can cite.
- Unsung Heroes
- People whose part was substantial but received little public recognition, so that their record has to be assembled from fewer or less visible sources.
The difference is how visible the record is. It says nothing about whose contribution mattered more.
Why these records matter
A contribution can be documented without being widely known. Reporting, legal work, medical care and local organising were all part of July, and the record of the people who did them is often a single report, a press-freedom case file or a court reporter’s account of one hearing.
A record held in one place is easily lost. This register gathers such records while their sources are still available, checks each against the publications that report it, and states plainly what is known and what is not.
How people are included
Every record is asked the same questions as on July Heroes. A less visible record is not held to a lower standard.
- Is the person’s identity clear, and kept apart from others with similar names?
- Is their part in July described in a published source — preferably one from the time?
- Can that part be tied to specific events, dates and places?
- Are the sources reliable, and does each claim cite the source that supports it?
- Is the wording no stronger than the evidence — with claims made by the person, their family or others attributed to them?
- Is publication appropriate for the person’s privacy and safety?
- The person’s part is documented, but mainly in specialist or single sources rather than in general accounts of the uprising.
- The person is not profiled on July Heroes.
- The judgement is editorial and about the record; it may change as a record becomes better known, and a person may then move to July Heroes.
- that their part mattered less
- that they are unknown to the people around them
- that the archive has measured their fame
- fame, then or now
- political office or party membership, then or since
- a social-media following
- state honours or later recognition on their own
- later political success or controversy
Journalists who reported July
Reporters whose work covering the protests is recorded by press-freedom organisations and the Bangladeshi press. Each was killed while reporting; the record here is of the work.
Hasan Mehedi
Also spelled Mehedi Hasan, Md Mehedi Hasan
- Journalism
- Dhaka
- 18 July 2024
Was reporting on the clashes between protesters and police in Jatrabari, Dhaka, on 18 July 2024. [1, 2, 3]
Police shot him at close range. [4]
Alleged — an allegation by the editor of Dhaka Times, citing a journalist who saw it, as reported by CPJ; it has not been established. Sources: Committee to Protect Journalists.
Criminals posing as protesters were responsible. [4]
Alleged — an allegation by a police sub-inspector, as reported by CPJ; it has not been established. Sources: Committee to Protect Journalists.
- Also recorded in the Martyrs register.
Abu Taher Md Turab
Tahir Zaman Priyo
Also spelled Tahir Zaman
Pradip Kumar Bhowmik
- Journalism
- Sirajganj
- 4 August 2024
Was covering the protests in Raiganj, Sirajganj, on 4 August 2024, the first day of the non-cooperation movement, bdnews24.com reported. [6]
Killed when protesters attacked the Awami League office in Raiganj during a party meeting; the upazila executive officer said six people died in the attack, among them the journalist. [6]
Reported — published by the reports cited; not yet checked against a primary record. Sources: bdnews24.com.
Reported in August 2025
RSF later described his death as occurring during clashes between rival factions. The accounts are given side by side; neither is preferred. [5]
Reported — published by the reports cited; not yet checked against a primary record. Sources: Reporters Without Borders.
- Also recorded in the Martyrs register.
Lawyers who went to court
The two lawyers who filed the petition for the release of the coordinators held by the Detective Branch, and what the court record shows of it.
Ainun Nahar Siddiqua
Also spelled Ainun Nahar Siddiqa, Ainu Nahar Siddika Lipi
- Legal support
- Dhaka
- 29 July – 1 August 2024
With Manzur Al Matin, filed a writ petition in the High Court on 29 July 2024 seeking the release of the six coordinators held by the Detective Branch and a directive to stop the police firing on protesters. [7, 8]
The petition is heard by a High Court bench of Justice Mustafa Zaman Islam and Justice SM Masud Hossain Dolon, with the senior lawyers ZI Khan Panna and Sara Hossain also arguing for the petitioners. The bench criticises the video of the detained coordinators eating at the Detective Branch office — “Do not mock the nation in this manner” — and sets the next day for its decision. [7]
Reported — published by the reports cited; not yet checked against a primary record. Sources: The Business Standard.
The hearing set for the decision is not held because Justice Dolon is ill. [8]
Reported — published by the reports cited; not yet checked against a primary record. Sources: bdnews24.com.
Manzur Al Matin
Also spelled Manjur Al Matin, Manzur Al Matin Pritom
- Legal support
- Dhaka
- 29 July – 1 August 2024
With Ainun Nahar Siddiqua, filed a writ petition in the High Court on 29 July 2024 seeking the release of the six coordinators held by the Detective Branch and a directive to stop the police firing on protesters. [7, 8]
The petition is heard by a High Court bench of Justice Mustafa Zaman Islam and Justice SM Masud Hossain Dolon, with the senior lawyers ZI Khan Panna and Sara Hossain also arguing for the petitioners. The bench criticises the video of the detained coordinators eating at the Detective Branch office — “Do not mock the nation in this manner” — and sets the next day for its decision. [7]
Reported — published by the reports cited; not yet checked against a primary record. Sources: The Business Standard.
The hearing set for the decision is not held because Justice Dolon is ill. [8]
Reported — published by the reports cited; not yet checked against a primary record. Sources: bdnews24.com.
Beyond Dhaka
Of the 7 people profiled so far, 3 made their documented contribution outside the capital. The gap shows where research is needed, not where July happened.
- Habiganj
- Sirajganj
- Sylhet
Places are given at the level of a city or district. No map is drawn until the register holds enough records to plot without guesswork.
Across the uprising
The phases of July, with the people whose records connect to an event in each. A phase without names is one the register cannot yet document, not one without people.
A court ruling and the first protests
No profile in the register yet.
“Razakar” and the attacks on the campuses
No profile in the register yet.
Shutdown, curfew and the Supreme Court’s ruling
Arrests and a pause
One demand
The decisive days
Index A–Z
Every person in the register, alphabetically.
- Abu Taher Md Turab
Journalism · Sylhet
- Ainun Nahar Siddiqua
Legal support · Dhaka
- Hasan Mehedi
Journalism · Dhaka
- Manzur Al Matin
Legal support · Dhaka
- Pradip Kumar Bhowmik
Journalism · Sirajganj
- Sohel Akhanji
Journalism · Habiganj
- Tahir Zaman Priyo
Journalism · Dhaka
Named in the record, not yet profiled
The sources name these people in July, but what they say is not yet enough for a profile — because the sources disagree, or because the only account is the person’s own, given later.
- Md Shakil Hossain
A correspondent of the daily Bhorer Awaj, killed on 18 July 2024. Prothom Alo and RSF report that he was killed while reporting. [3, 5] CPJ corrected its first report to say that he was attending a student rally in his personal capacity, not reporting. [1]
Not yet established: The sources disagree on whether he was working when he was killed. His death is recorded in the Martyrs register, with the accounts side by side.
Martyrs- Dr Shahidul Islam Akon
A spine surgeon at Dhaka Medical College Hospital who, in his own account to The Business Standard two years later, suspended routine surgery to treat the injured, and says he was transferred to Sunamganj Medical College on 25 July 2024 as “punishment”. [11]
Not yet established: His account has not yet been checked against a report from the time or a record of the transfer.
- Dr Salman Abdullah
A public health physician who, in his own account to The Business Standard two years later, treated injured students at BRAC University on 18 July 2024 and then set up a temporary pharmacy in Motijheel where he treated protesters during the curfew. [11]
Not yet established: His account has not yet been checked against a report from the time.
Elsewhere in the archive
The paired register, held to the same standard.
July Heroes
People whose part in July is already relatively well documented — coordinators, campus organisers, and others reported by name at the time. Neither register is complete, and neither ranks above the other.
- Martyrs
The register of those who died. 5 of the people profiled here are also recorded there; their deaths are not described on this page beyond one line.
- Injured & Survivors
People who were injured and survived, recorded from their public accounts and published reports, without private medical detail.
Sources and method
Each profile was compiled by Justice for Hadi from the case records of two press-freedom organisations, the Committee to Protect Journalists and Reporters Without Borders, and from reports in the Bangladeshi press, each read in full on the review date. Every numbered citation points to the publication that reports the fact. Reports from July and August 2024 are preferred; a later report is cited only for what it adds, and its date is given in the source list.
Every entry in a person’s record carries the project’s evidence word in text. “Reported” means published by the sources cited and not yet checked against a primary record. “Alleged” means a claim made by someone that has not been established, and names who made it. None of these records has yet been through the project’s formal verification process.
July archive reviewed through . To propose a person for the register, correct a record, or offer a photograph with its source and permission, see corrections; for how the project works, see the research methodology.
Sources
- 1Bangladeshi journalists killed in quota protests as reporters attacked, internet blocked
Committee to Protect Journalists · 26 July 2024 · Rights organisation record · cpj.org
Source catalogue record and provenance
↩ First cited in “Journalists who reported July” - 2Political crisis in Bangladesh: RSF calls on the interim government to protect journalists
Reporters Without Borders · 9 August 2024 · Rights organisation record · rsf.org
Source catalogue record and provenance
↩ First cited in “Journalists who reported July” - 3Five on-duty journalists were martyrd during July uprising
Prothom Alo · 15 July 2025 · News report · en.prothomalo.com
Source catalogue record and provenance
↩ First cited in “Journalists who reported July” - 4Hasan Mehedi
Committee to Protect Journalists · Rights organisation record · cpj.org
Source catalogue record and provenance
↩ First cited in “Journalists who reported July” - 5Bangladesh: one year after the Monsoon Revolution, justice for six slain journalists remains elusive
Reporters Without Borders · 1 August 2025 · Rights organisation record · rsf.org
Source catalogue record and provenance
↩ First cited in “Journalists who reported July” - 6Journalists targeted and attacked: 1 killed, scores injured during anti-government protests
bdnews24.com · 5 August 2024 · News report · bdnews24.com
Source catalogue record and provenance
↩ First cited in “Journalists who reported July” - 7‘Don’t mock the nation,’ HC on video of quota protesters fed at DB office
The Business Standard · 29 July 2024 · News report · tbsnews.net
Source catalogue record and provenance
↩ First cited in “Lawyers who went to court” - 8No hearing on writ to free quota protest coordinators as High Court judge takes ill
bdnews24.com · 31 July 2024 · News report · bdnews24.com
Source catalogue record and provenance
↩ First cited in “Lawyers who went to court” - 9Six quota protest coordinators handed over to families from DB custody
bdnews24.com · 1 August 2024 · News report · bdnews24.com
Source catalogue record and provenance
↩ First cited in “Lawyers who went to court” - 106 coordinators of quota reform movement released
The Business Standard · 1 August 2024 · News report · tbsnews.net
Source catalogue record and provenance
↩ First cited in “Lawyers who went to court” - 1127 July 2024: The untold stories of doctors in Dhaka
The Business Standard · 26 July 2026 · News report · tbsnews.net
Source catalogue record and provenance
↩ First cited in “Not yet profiled”
What is not on this page, and why
- An open register, with gaps
- The register can so far document journalists who reported on the protests and the lawyers who challenged the coordinators’ detention. It does not yet hold a verified profile of a local or neighbourhood organiser, a medical worker, a volunteer who carried supplies or the wounded, a driver, or an artist, though the record shows that all of these took part. No chapter is shown for them until a profile meets the threshold; none is filled for balance.
- Leads not yet read
- Some reports of contributions could not be read in full on the review date. They are not cited, and the people they describe are not named here until their records can be checked.
- Open proceedings
- A person who is credited with a contribution and is also the subject of open criminal proceedings over the same events is not profiled here while the proceedings are open. The record of those proceedings belongs to Crimes & Accountability.
- Where the sources differ
- Accounts of who fired, and in what circumstances, differ between sources for several of the journalists profiled; each account is given with who gave it. Names are spelled differently from outlet to outlet; each profile gives the spelling used most often in its sources, with the others listed so no one appears twice.
- Death
- Five of the people profiled here were killed while reporting. Each profile states it in one line and points to the Martyrs register. Injuries are not described.
- Hadi is not on this page
- Sharif Osman bin Hadi’s part in July is held to the July Heroes threshold and recorded on his own pages. This register is for people whose record is less visible.
- No photographs
- The archive does not yet hold a photograph of any person profiled here with a documented creator and permission to publish. None is shown, and no illustration or AI-generated likeness is used in its place.
- Privacy
- Places are given at the level of a city, district or upazila. Family members quoted in the sources are not named or quoted, and no addresses, present whereabouts or medical details are published.
- Sources not used
- Encyclopedia entries, social-media posts, memorial graphics and campaign material were used only as leads, to be checked against the publications cited.
Continue the record
July Heroes
The paired register, of people whose part is already well documented.
Martyrs
The register of those who died.
Injured & Survivors
The wounded and those who survived.