The July Uprising
How a student protest against a quota in government jobs became, through confrontation, killings, mass participation and changing demands, a nationwide uprising that ended Sheikh Hasina’s government — day by day, with every event dated and sourced.
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- 102 dated entries
A chronology drawn from 40 published sources, with the accounts that disagree set side by side. Skip to sources
What the uprising was
In June 2024 a court ruling restored a quota that reserved 30 percent of public sector jobs for descendants of the fighters of Bangladesh’s war of independence, and students protested. Over the following weeks the protests became what the UN fact-finding report calls a cross-societal uprising; the government’s response escalated from intimidation to lethal force; and on 5 August 2024 the prime minister, Sheikh Hasina, left the country after fifteen years in office. [1]
Students at public universities led the first protests. After the killing of a student in Rangpur on 16 July, students at private universities joined them, and from 18 July the wider population took to the streets. [1] The demands changed with the events: from reform of the quota, to accountability for the killings, to a single demand on 3 August for the government’s resignation. [1, 2]
Its consequences are still being worked out in public life and in court. The killings of those weeks are the subject of investigations and trials, one of which ended in convictions at first instance in November 2025. [3]
Why “July” runs into August
The decisive days fell in August, but the movement came to be named after July: its participants counted 5 August as “July 36”. [4] This history therefore runs from the High Court ruling of 5 June 2024 to the swearing-in of an interim government on 8 August, and records the violence in the days after 5 August because it is part of how the uprising ended. What the interim government did after 8 August, and the politics of the years since, belong to other pages.
The names used
This page uses “the July Uprising”, the name in general use in the press after August 2024, [4, 5] because it describes what happened without adopting a judgment about it. It is not a choice between the other names below, each of which is recorded with who used it.
- The name in reporting while the demand was the quota itself, and in later accounts of how the protests began. [6, 2]
- Two English renderings of the name of the student platform that called the protests; the UN fact-finding report describes it as an umbrella movement that brought together a range of students, including from the student wings of BNP and Jamaat-e-Islami. [6, 1]
- The name in general use in the press after August 2024, including in reporting of the trials that followed. [4, 5]
- The wording of the July Proclamation read by the chief adviser of the interim government on 5 August 2025. [7]
- The description in the UN fact-finding report of how the protests grew once a majority of Bangladeshis came to share their grievances. [1]
Before July: the quota question
What the quota was, why it mattered to students, and how a court ruling reopened a question settled six years earlier.
Since independence, part of the recruitment to government jobs in Bangladesh had been reserved under quotas, whose rates and categories changed over time. [4] The largest reservation was for descendants of those who fought in the war of independence of 1971. Students, including some Awami League supporters, saw it as favouring them over merit; many beneficiaries, the UN fact-finding report notes, came from families with long ties to the governing party. [1]
The same report records the grievances that gave the issue its force: young people struggling to find work — nearly 40 percent of those aged 15 to 24 were not in education, employment or training, by a government report of April 2024 — rising prices, and corruption. [1]
Student protests in 2018 had led the government to abolish the quotas for first- and second-class posts. [1, 4] The movement of 2024 began when the High Court restored the quota, and its first demand was that the quota system be scrapped. [6]
The quota record
Until 2018
Fifty-six percent of government jobs are reserved under quotas: 30 percent for the children and grandchildren of freedom fighters, 10 percent for women, 10 percent by district, 5 percent for ethnic minorities and 1 percent for people with disabilities. [4]
The quota system
The government decides to abolish the quota system after extensive student protests. [1]
The government
The abolition covers first- and second-class posts; quotas for third- and fourth-class posts remain. [4]
The government, by notification
Seven people, among them the son of a freedom fighter, challenge the 2018 notification in a writ petition to the High Court. [4]
Petitioners
The 2018 decision is ruled unconstitutional; a quota of 30 percent of public sector jobs for descendants of independence fighters is reinstated. [1]
High Court Division, Supreme Court
The High Court order is stayed for four weeks. [6]
Appellate Division, Supreme Court
The quota for descendants of independence fighters is cut to 5 percent; 93 percent of jobs are allocated on merit and 2 percent reserved for members of ethnic minorities and transgender and disabled people. [8]
Supreme Court
The verdict is unanimous, by a full bench led by Chief Justice Obaidul Hasan. The 5 percent covers children of freedom fighters, martyred freedom fighters and Biranganas, with 1 percent for ethnic minorities and 1 percent for people with disabilities and third-gender people; reserved posts left vacant are to be filled on merit, and the government is ordered to issue a gazette notification. [9]
Appellate Division, Supreme Court
5 June – 13 July 2024
A court ruling and the first protests
For about forty days after the ruling the protests were about one thing — the quota — and, a later review by bdnews24.com found, they turned violent only in mid-July. [4] Students tried the streets and the courts at once: they blockaded roads while two of them joined the appeal against the ruling. [6, 9]
The High Court reinstates the quota
Dhaka
The High Court Division of the Supreme Court reinstates a quota reserving 30 percent of public sector jobs for descendants of the fighters of the 1971 war of independence, ruling unconstitutional the government decision of 2018 that had abolished it after student protests. [1]
Reported — published by the reports cited; not yet checked against a primary record. Sources: Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).
Where in the source: UN report, para. 19
Also a milestone on the July overviewStudents protest the ruling
Students begin to stage protests against the court order. [6]
Reported — published by the reports cited; not yet checked against a primary record. Sources: bdnews24.com.
Also a milestone on the July overviewThe movement takes to the streets
Protesters, led mostly by students and other young people, take to the streets against the reinstated quota, [3] in what bdnews24.com describes as a movement under the banner of the Anti-discrimination Student Movement. [6]
Reported — published by the reports cited; not yet checked against a primary record. Sources: Al Jazeera; bdnews24.com.
Also a milestone on the July overviewRallies on five campuses, and a deadline
Dhaka University, Dhaka · Jagannath University, Dhaka · Jahangirnagar University, Savar · Chittagong University, Chattogram · Rajshahi University, Rajshahi
Students rally at Dhaka, Jahangirnagar, Jagannath, Chattogram and Rajshahi universities and announce a three-day programme against the quota, [6] setting 4 July as the deadline for their demand to be met. [9]
Reported — published by the reports cited; not yet checked against a primary record. Sources: bdnews24.com; Prothom Alo.
–
The first blockades
Shahbagh intersection, Dhaka · Dhaka–Aricha highway, Savar
Students block the Shahbagh intersection in Dhaka for an hour on 2 July, and the Dhaka–Aricha highway outside Jahangirnagar University for twenty minutes. On 3 July the Shahbagh blockade lasts an hour and a half, with protests at six universities. [9]
Reported — published by the reports cited; not yet checked against a primary record. Sources: Prothom Alo.
No stay on the deadline day
Dhaka
The Appellate Division does not stay the High Court verdict that invalidated the 2018 circular abolishing the quota. [9]
Reported — published by the reports cited; not yet checked against a primary record. Sources: Prothom Alo.
A “Bangla Blockade”, and the government’s answer
Protesters hold a “Bangla Blockade” programme across the country. [6] The same day the prime minister, Sheikh Hasina, says publicly that after the court’s verdict there is “no justification for the anti-quota movement”. [1]
Reported — published by the reports cited; not yet checked against a primary record. Sources: bdnews24.com; Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).
Where in the source: UN report, para. 30
Also a milestone on the July overviewA second day of blockade
Dhaka
The “Bangla Blockade” continues: protesters block 11 points in Dhaka, railway lines at three places and six highways, and demonstrate at nine universities. [9]
Reported — published by the reports cited; not yet checked against a primary record. Sources: Prothom Alo.
A team of 65 coordinators
The Anti-discrimination Student Movement forms a 65-member coordinating team to carry out its programme: 23 coordinators and 42 co-coordinators. [10]
Reported — published by the reports cited; not yet checked against a primary record. Sources: bdnews24.com.
Two students join the case
Dhaka
Two students join the appeal against the High Court verdict through a lawyer. The movement announces a dawn-to-dusk blockade of key roads, highways and railways for the next day. [6, 4]
Reported — published by the reports cited; not yet checked against a primary record. Sources: bdnews24.com.
The ruling is stayed
Dhaka
The Appellate Division of the Supreme Court stays the High Court order for four weeks. [6]
Reported — published by the reports cited; not yet checked against a primary record. Sources: bdnews24.com.
Also a milestone on the July overview–
Secret talks are authorised
In a meeting during the night of 10–11 July, the prime minister authorises the Directorate-General of Forces Intelligence (DGFI), the military intelligence agency, to negotiate secretly with student leaders, according to former senior officials interviewed by the UN investigators. The same report records that the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) had been deployed beside the regular police from 10 July. [1]
Reported — published by the reports cited; not yet checked against a primary record. Sources: Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).
Where in the source: UN report, paras. 31, 39
Warnings from the governing party
The Awami League’s general secretary, Obaidul Quader, says the protesters are flexing their muscles against the country’s highest court, and the home minister says they are “crossing their limits”. [9] The president of the Chhatra League, the party’s student wing, says it is “ready to face” those trying to use the movement politically. [1]
Reported — published by the reports cited; not yet checked against a primary record. Sources: Prothom Alo; Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).
Where in the source: UN report, para. 32
Police use force near Cumilla University
Cumilla University, Cumilla · Sher-e-Bangla Agricultural University, Dhaka
Police use batons and tear gas against student protesters near Cumilla University, and clash with protesters at Sher-e-Bangla Agricultural University in Dhaka, according to the UN fact-finding report. [1]
Reported — published by the reports cited; not yet checked against a primary record. Sources: Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).
Where in the source: UN report, para. 32
Also a milestone on the July overviewAn investigation into “infiltration”
Dhaka
The Detective Branch of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police announces an investigation into the supposed “infiltration” of the protests; senior officials had begun to describe the movement as infiltrated by the opposition. [1]
Reported — published by the reports cited; not yet checked against a primary record. Sources: Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).
Where in the source: UN report, paras. 30, 32
Protests on a weekly holiday
Shahbagh intersection, Dhaka · Rajshahi University, Rajshahi
Although it is a weekly holiday, students demonstrate at universities and colleges. In Dhaka they block Shahbagh after a rally on the campus; Rajshahi University students block the railway line. The movement announces a memorandum to the president calling for reform of the quota in all grades of government jobs. [9]
Reported — published by the reports cited; not yet checked against a primary record. Sources: Prothom Alo.
How the movement organised
What the record shows of the movement’s organisation — not a single chain of command.
- From 1 July the protests were called under the banner of the Anti-discrimination Student Movement [6], which the UN fact-finding report describes as an umbrella movement bringing together a range of students, including from the student wings of the BNP and Jamaat-e-Islami. [1]
- A team of 65 — 23 coordinators and 42 co-coordinators — formed on 8 July, expanded on 3 August to 158 — 49 coordinators and 109 co-coordinators — drawn from institutions across the country. [10, 11]
- Decisions were announced by named coordinators — Nahid Islam on 22 July and 3 August, Asif Mahmud on 3 and 4 August — and in press notes from others, such as Rifat Rashid on 31 July and 3 August. [6, 12, 13, 9, 11]
- On 22 July, the day the “complete shutdown” was halted, a statement in the name of 56 coordinators urged students to intensify it; on 28 July coordinators still free rejected the statement read by those in custody and called new protests. [9] A report published a year later describes how a decentralised leadership kept the movement going while its best-known coordinators were held. [14]
- Through press notes, statements to journalists and social media: on 28 July the coordinators still free announced eight protest points in Dhaka on social media, and on 4 August the new date of the march was posted on Facebook. [9, 13] By his own later account, Abdul Kader sent the nine-point demand to journalists from a basic phone. [15]
What a “Bangla Blockade” was
“Bangla Blockade” was the movement’s name for holding major intersections, highways and railway lines for hours at a time. On 7 July it brought Dhaka to a standstill; on 8 July protesters held 11 points in the capital, three railway lines and six highways. [6, 9] Blockades disrupted traffic and supplies. Under the standards the UN investigators applied, a peaceful assembly causing serious and sustained disruption may be dispersed, but firearms may never be used simply to disperse an assembly. [1]
In this phase the protest was a reform demand addressed to a court and a government that both still had room to answer it. The government’s first answer was to say the matter was for the court, and to describe the movement as infiltrated.
From here this history describes killings and injuries, by the security forces, by armed supporters of the government and by crowds. It contains no images and no graphic detail, and does not name children.
14–17 July 2024
“Razakar” and the attacks on the campuses
Four days turned a reform campaign into a confrontation. A remark at a press conference, a chant that night, statements by party leaders the next day, and attacks on students around several universities were followed by the first killings, including that of Abu Sayed in Rangpur. [1]
A memorandum to the president
Bangabhaban, Dhaka
Protesters deliver a memorandum to the president and give the government 24 hours to reform the quota in all grades of government jobs. [9] The High Court publishes its full verdict the same day. [6]
Reported — published by the reports cited; not yet checked against a primary record. Sources: Prothom Alo; bdnews24.com.
A remark at a press conference, and a chant that night
Dhaka University, Dhaka
At a press conference the prime minister asks whether, if the grandchildren of freedom fighters do not receive quota benefits, “the grandchildren of razakars” should — razakar being the term for those who collaborated with Pakistan’s army in 1971. Students take the remark as directed at them. That night protests break out in the halls of Dhaka University, and hundreds of women break the night locks of their dormitory to join them. [1]
Reported — published by the reports cited; not yet checked against a primary record. Sources: Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).
Where in the source: UN report, paras. 33–34
Also a milestone on the July overviewMinisters answer the chants
After the students’ “razakar” chants, ministers say publicly that the time for tolerating the protests has passed: the education minister calls the protesters “the razakars of this era”, and the state minister for information says no demands will be accepted from “those who want to become razakars”. [1]
Reported — published by the reports cited; not yet checked against a primary record. Sources: Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).
Where in the source: UN report, para. 35
–
Two nights of attacks at Jahangirnagar
Jahangirnagar University, Savar
Late on 14 July Chhatra League supporters armed with metal bars and branches attack a student procession at Jahangirnagar University. The next night a larger group of Awami League supporters is brought to the campus; students who seek protection at the vice-chancellor’s residence are trapped there and attacked with bricks and petrol bombs, while police who arrive make no attempt to stop it, the UN investigators found. [1]
Reported — published by the reports cited; not yet checked against a primary record. Sources: Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).
Where in the source: UN report, para. 83
An attack in Rangpur
Begum Rokeya University, Rangpur
At about 1:30 a.m., Chhatra League supporters armed with knives, rods and sticks attack students protesting at Begum Rokeya University; two are taken to hospital. Further attacks follow later that day. [1]
Reported — published by the reports cited; not yet checked against a primary record. Sources: Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).
Where in the source: UN report, para. 84
A directive at night, and a statement in the afternoon
Raju Memorial Sculpture, Dhaka University, Dhaka
At about 3 a.m. the Chhatra League president addresses supporters brought to Dhaka University; later in the day Obaidul Quader says the Chhatra League “is ready to respond”. The UN investigators found that these statements incited the attacks that followed, and that no party leader later withdrew them. Their words are set out in the record below. [1]
Reported — published by the reports cited; not yet checked against a primary record. Sources: Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).
Where in the source: UN report, paras. 79–80
Attacks on student protesters
Dhaka University, Dhaka
Bangladesh Chhatra League, the governing party’s student wing, and other government supporters attack student protesters. [6] The UN fact-finding report found that senior Awami League officials “mobilized and incited” Chhatra League supporters to carry out armed attacks on student protesters around several universities, that students often defended themselves, and that the police consistently failed to intervene. [1]
Reported — published by the reports cited; not yet checked against a primary record. Sources: bdnews24.com; Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).
Where in the source: UN report, paras. 36, 78–85
Also a milestone on the July overviewThe attacks reach a hospital
Dhaka Medical College Hospital, Dhaka · Eden Mohila College, Dhaka
In the early evening hundreds of Chhatra League supporters force their way into Dhaka Medical College Hospital, where injured students are being treated, and attack patients and staff. Earlier that day women students at Eden Mohila College were attacked as they set out to join the protests. [1] Dhaka Medical College Hospital treats 297 people after the clash on the Dhaka University campus, Prothom Alo reported. [9]
Reported — published by the reports cited; not yet checked against a primary record. Sources: Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR); Prothom Alo.
Where in the source: UN report, paras. 86–87
Clashes at Science Lab and in Old Dhaka
Science Lab, Dhaka · Bahadur Shah Park, Dhaka
Around midday a prepositioned group of Chhatra League supporters charges thousands of students at Science Lab; the students, who outnumber them, respond with bricks, and the fighting lasts hours with no police intervention. In Old Dhaka, Chhatra League supporters fire pistols at students at Bahadur Shah Park, wounding at least four. Dhaka Medical College Hospital records two deaths, one of them reportedly an Awami League supporter. [1]
Reported — published by the reports cited; not yet checked against a primary record. Sources: Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).
Where in the source: UN report, para. 88
The first deaths
Begum Rokeya University, Rangpur
At least six people are killed, among them Abu Sayed, a student at Begum Rokeya University in Rangpur. Footage of his killing circulates widely and brings more protesters out, including many students at private universities. The same day the government applies for leave to appeal the High Court’s ruling. [1]
Reported — published by the reports cited; not yet checked against a primary record. Sources: Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).
Where in the source: UN report, paras. 37, 41; Case 1
Also a milestone on the July overviewChhatra League is driven from the halls
Dhaka University, Dhaka
Student protesters retaliate by violently ousting Chhatra League supporters from Dhaka University dormitories, the UN investigators found. [1]
Reported — published by the reports cited; not yet checked against a primary record. Sources: Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).
Where in the source: UN report, para. 86
Campuses are closed
Later that day all educational institutions and university residential halls are ordered shut. [6]
Reported — published by the reports cited; not yet checked against a primary record. Sources: bdnews24.com.
Dhaka University, and a call for a “complete shutdown”
Dhaka University, Dhaka
Police, supported by the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) and Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB), break up a large protest at Dhaka University. In an evening address the prime minister asks students to await the Supreme Court’s decision; Students against Discrimination calls instead for a “complete shutdown” of the country. [1]
Reported — published by the reports cited; not yet checked against a primary record. Sources: Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).
Where in the source: UN report, paras. 39, 41; Case 2
Also a milestone on the July overviewPrivate universities join
Dhaka
Protesters drive Chhatra League members out of halls at Dhaka University and other campuses and declare the campuses “free from politics”. Many students stay in the halls despite the order to leave. [9] Large protests break out at private universities. [6]
Reported — published by the reports cited; not yet checked against a primary record. Sources: Prothom Alo; bdnews24.com.
A night in Jatrabari
Jatrabari, Dhaka
In Jatrabari, armed Awami League supporters join the police against protesters, and by the end of the day police are firing military rifles. That night some in the crowds burn the toll plaza on the Mayor Hanif Flyover. From the afternoon, protesters had begun barricading the Dhaka–Chattogram highway. [1]
Reported — published by the reports cited; not yet checked against a primary record. Sources: Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).
Where in the source: UN report, Case 5
Words that shaped the days
‘তুমি কে, আমি কে, রাজাকার, রাজাকার/ কে বলেছে, কে বলেছে, স্বৈরাচার, স্বৈরাচার’
“Who are you? Who am I? Razakar, razakar.” … “Says who? Says who? The dictator, the dictator!”
“Why do they [the student protesters] have so much resentment towards freedom fighters? If the grandchildren of the freedom fighters don’t get quota benefits, should the grandchildren of razakars get the benefit?”
“It is not possible for this state to respect these traitors.”
“From Monday [15 July], there will be no razakar on the streets of Bangladesh. This is a clear directive to leaders in every district, city, university, and educational institution, those who seek to create anarchy or mock the martyrs will be dealt with on the streets.”
“Chhatra League is ready to respond to the remarks by several quota reform movement leaders. … We will resist any evil force against the spirit of the liberation war with an iron hand.”
“Hospitals and emergency services will remain open, but no other institutions will operate, and no vehicles, except ambulances, will be allowed on the roads.”
Taken together, these days changed what the protests were about. A remark the students took as an insult, the attacks that followed and then the deaths gave the movement a grievance about how it had been treated, not only about the quota.
18–21 July 2024
Shutdown, curfew and the Supreme Court’s ruling
From 18 July the general population joined the students, the security forces moved to lethal force, the internet was cut and the Army was called out under a curfew. Some in the crowds attacked police, government buildings and transport. Within these four days the Supreme Court decided the quota question. [1]
The wider public takes to the streets
The general population joins the protests and blocks key roads. The UN fact-finding report found that the security forces now moved to lethal force; that some in the crowds attacked police, transport infrastructure and government buildings, including the Bangladesh Television building; and that in the evening the government ordered BGB to use maximum force and shut down the internet across the country. [1]
Reported — published by the reports cited; not yet checked against a primary record. Sources: Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).
Where in the source: UN report, paras. 43–44
Also a milestone on the July overviewShooting in Uttara
Uttara, Dhaka
Police, reinforced by RAB, Armed Police Battalions, BGB, Ansar and armed Awami League supporters, disperse a protest at the BNS Centre in Uttara; from the early afternoon police and RAB fire military rifles at protesters. One nearby hospital records 91 injured and six dead that day, five of them students. Among the dead is Mir Mughdo, a 25-year-old student who had been handing out water. [1]
Reported — published by the reports cited; not yet checked against a primary record. Sources: Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).
Where in the source: UN report, para. 103; Case 3
A killing in Savar, and care obstructed
Savar
In Savar police shoot Shykh Aashhabul Yamin, an unarmed young man who had climbed onto a police armoured vehicle. The UN investigators cite his death as a case in which police deliberately obstructed medical care for someone they had shot. [1]
Reported — published by the reports cited; not yet checked against a primary record. Sources: Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).
Where in the source: UN report, paras. 145–148; Case 8
Police surrounded, and buildings burned
Merul Badda, Dhaka · Bangladesh Television, Rampura, Dhaka · Setu Bhaban, Banani, Dhaka
Protesters surround police at Merul Badda, who are rescued by helicopter. The building of the state broadcaster, Bangladesh Television, is set on fire, and government buildings including Setu Bhaban and the Directorate of Disaster Management are vandalised and burned. [6] As the crowds grew more mixed, the UN investigators found, some in them attacked police, transport infrastructure and government buildings, including the television building. [1]
Reported — published by the reports cited; not yet checked against a primary record. Sources: bdnews24.com; Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).
Where in the source: UN report, para. 44
–
Narsingdi: shooting, then the jail stormed
Narsingdi Central Jail, Narsingdi
On 18 July police fire shotguns at protesters near Narsingdi Central Jail; a 15-year-old boy is among those killed. The next day a crowd storms the jail and sets it on fire; more than 800 inmates escape and 85 firearms are looted, and police fire on the crowd without distinguishing attackers from others. The local hospital receives more than 300 patients over the two days. [1]
Reported — published by the reports cited; not yet checked against a primary record. Sources: Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).
Where in the source: UN report, para. 110
An offer of talks, refused
The Awami League proposes cutting the share of government jobs under quotas from 56 to 20 percent, and the law minister says the government is willing to talk; the Anti-discrimination Student Movement turns the proposal down. [6] By then, the UN investigators found, students doubted the government’s good faith after the attacks on them. [1]
Reported — published by the reports cited; not yet checked against a primary record. Sources: bdnews24.com; Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).
Where in the source: UN report, para. 42
Forty-seven districts, and the border guard
Besides Dhaka, 47 districts see protests, clashes, police firing and attacks; Prothom Alo counted at least 1,500 injured that day. Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) is deployed across the country. [9]
Reported — published by the reports cited; not yet checked against a primary record. Sources: Prothom Alo.
–
Three coordinators meet three ministers
Padma state guest house, Dhaka
Three coordinators — Sarjis Alam, Hasnat Abdullah and Hasib Al Islam — meet the law and education ministers and the state minister for information at the Padma state guest house and present an eight-point list of demands. [6, 9] The sources date the meeting differently: bdnews24.com to 19 July, Prothom Alo to 20 July, and the UN report to the night of 18–19 July, when, it found, DGFI took three student leaders to meet government ministers. [6, 9, 1]
Reported — published by the reports cited; not yet checked against a primary record. Sources: bdnews24.com; Prothom Alo; Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).
Where in the source: UN report, para. 173
Shooting in Dhaka, and a national curfew
Rampura, Dhaka · Badda, Dhaka
Security forces fire on crowds in Rampura, Badda and many other places. In the evening the prime minister orders a national curfew from midnight and deploys 27,000 Army soldiers. [1]
Reported — published by the reports cited; not yet checked against a primary record. Sources: Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).
Where in the source: UN report, para. 44; Case 4
Also a milestone on the July overviewMetro stations and toll plazas attacked
Kazipara and Mirpur-10 metro stations, Dhaka · Mirpur Indoor Stadium, Dhaka
Metro rail stations, an elevated expressway toll plaza, the Mirpur Indoor Stadium and other structures are vandalised and set on fire. [6]
Reported — published by the reports cited; not yet checked against a primary record. Sources: bdnews24.com.
Killings by armed supporters, and by crowds
Rayerbag, Dhaka · Jatrabari, Dhaka · Uttara, Dhaka
Several hundred Awami League supporters led by a local official attack the Muzahid Nogor Central Mosque in Rayerbag, killing two elderly men; three more people die in the fighting. In Jatrabari a crowd beats to death two police officers in plain clothes. In Uttara a crowd beats a former mayor of Gazipur and kills one of his associates, after they and other armed Awami League supporters had reportedly fired on protesters. [1]
Reported — published by the reports cited; not yet checked against a primary record. Sources: Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).
Where in the source: UN report, paras. 93, 212; Case 5
Nine demands
The movement says it will continue the shutdown until a nine-point demand is met, beginning with a public apology from the prime minister for the killings of students and the removal of two ministers. The demands are set out under “How the demands changed”. [6, 9]
Reported — published by the reports cited; not yet checked against a primary record. Sources: bdnews24.com; Prothom Alo.
An opposition leader is arrested
Ruhul Kabir Rizvi, a senior joint secretary of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), is arrested. [6]
Reported — published by the reports cited; not yet checked against a primary record. Sources: bdnews24.com.
–
Three coordinators disappear
Dhaka
Nahid Islam is taken from a house in Dhaka around midnight; Asif Mahmud and Abu Baker Majumder are picked up the same day. Nahid is left in Purbachal on 21 July and taken to hospital; Asif and Abu Baker are released blindfolded five days later, Prothom Alo reported. [9] By Nahid Islam’s own account the men said they were from the Detective Branch; the UN investigators received credible accounts that he was held and tortured at a secret DGFI detention site. [17, 1]
Alleged — an allegation by Nahid Islam, and accounts received by the UN investigators; it has not been established. Sources: Prothom Alo; The Business Standard; Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).
Where in the source: UN report, para. 174
The curfew is defied
Mohammadpur, Dhaka · Savar · Gazipur · Mymensingh · Narayanganj
Protesters defy the curfew and clash with law enforcers in Dhaka, Savar, Gazipur, Mymensingh and elsewhere; bdnews24.com counts at least 26 killed in Dhaka and Narayanganj. [6] In Mohammadpur, around midday, Army soldiers fire volleys of live ammunition directly at a crowd that had been throwing bricks at police — one of three Army shootings the UN investigators documented. [1]
Reported — published by the reports cited; not yet checked against a primary record. Sources: bdnews24.com; Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).
Where in the source: UN report, paras. 127–129
–
Operations to clear the highway
Jatrabari, Dhaka
Police, RAB, BGB and the Army carry out a joint operation in Jatrabari, Dhaka, to clear the Dhaka–Chattogram highway, firing military rifles and shotguns. [1]
Reported — published by the reports cited; not yet checked against a primary record. Sources: Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).
Where in the source: UN report, para. 44; Case 5
Also a milestone on the July overviewThe Supreme Court cuts the quota
Dhaka
The Supreme Court reduces the quota for descendants of independence fighters to 5 percent and allocates 93 percent of jobs on merit, with 2 percent for members of ethnic minorities and transgender and disabled people. [8] By then the movement’s demands have already widened beyond the quota. [1]
Reported — published by the reports cited; not yet checked against a primary record. Sources: Al Jazeera; Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).
Where in the source: UN report, para. 45
Also a milestone on the July overview–
A general holiday
Government, private and autonomous offices, banks and garment factories close under a general holiday while the curfew continues; the holiday is extended to 23 July, and offices reopen for limited hours on 24 July. [6]
Reported — published by the reports cited; not yet checked against a primary record. Sources: bdnews24.com.
Who was deployed
Each force is named for what it is recorded to have done; no act is attributed to the security forces as a whole where a source identifies a unit.
- The regular police, including the Detective Branch, and from 16 July six Armed Police Battalions, deployed on the instructions of the Inspector-General and armed with shotguns and rifles. [1]
- A paramilitary force of officers seconded from the police and the military. Deployed beside the police from 10 July; during the protests it deployed all 15 of its battalions, and its helicopters dropped tear gas and grenades on protesters. [1]
- At least 14 battalions were reportedly deployed from 15 July. [1]
- Deployed from 16 July — close to 4,000 border guards in 58 locations. On the evening of 18 July the government ordered it to use maximum force. [1]
- 27,000 soldiers deployed with the curfew from midnight on 19 July; from 20 July a senior general joined the home minister’s “Core Committee” that coordinated the security response. The UN investigators documented three instances of soldiers shooting at protesters, but could not assess how far the Army was institutionally involved: it did not answer their requests. [1]
- The military intelligence agency DGFI deployed some 110 officers and 900 field staff to gather information; the National Telecommunication Monitoring Centre (NTMC) supported arrests with surveillance and carried out the internet shutdowns. [1]
Communications cut
From the night of 14–15 July, mobile internet was shut down around five universities; the next night the order was widened to 59 university areas. Facebook and YouTube were blocked from midnight on 17 July and 4G services shut down. On the evening of 18 July broadband was cut as well, and for five days the whole country was disconnected from the internet. Broadband returned from 23 July and mobile internet from the afternoon of 28 July, while social media stayed blocked; mobile internet was cut again on the evening of 4 August and broadband on the morning of 5 August, until Sheikh Hasina had left. [1]
People were cut off from banking, health and other services and often could not check on their families. The UN fact-finding report found that the decisions were taken at ministerial level and carried out through the National Telecommunication Monitoring Centre and the telecommunications regulator, without announcement, due process or justification. [1]
- Reasons given at the time
- The then state minister for telecommunications said the shutdowns were caused by protesters burning data centres in Dhaka; on other occasions he said they were a deliberate measure to curb misinformation. [1]
- The UN fact-finding report
- Found the data-centre claim false — technical data showed key government installations kept internet access in the areas said to be affected — and found that the timing and reach of the shutdowns tracked the location of major protests and their suppression. [1]
Journalists and the press
Between 15 July and 5 August at least six journalists were killed at or around protests in Dhaka, Sylhet and Sirajganj, and about 200 were injured, according to a civil society organisation cited by the UN fact-finding report. Some were hit when security forces fired on crowds; others were targeted for their work, in some cases by protesters. The report found that intelligence agencies and ministry officials pressed editors not to report fully on the protests and their suppression. [1]
The court’s ruling of 21 July answered the demand with which the movement began, but by then the killings of the previous days had become its subject. The quota was no longer what stood between the students and the government.
22–31 July 2024
Arrests and a pause
Street protests ebbed under the curfew while the security forces carried out a mass arrest campaign, and six of the movement’s coordinators were held at the Detective Branch. The government settled the quota by notification and began to blame the violence on the opposition. [1, 9]
The “complete shutdown” is halted
Nahid Islam, one of the movement’s coordinators, announces a halt to the “complete shutdown”. Broadband internet is restored on a limited scale the next day. [6]
Reported — published by the reports cited; not yet checked against a primary record. Sources: bdnews24.com.
Also a milestone on the July overviewA second statement
The same afternoon a joint statement sent in the name of 56 coordinators urges students to intensify the “complete shutdown”, says the government cannot evade responsibility for the killings “simply using a court order”, and alleges that over 300 students and others have been killed and that detained organisers were pressed to make statements. [9]
Alleged — an allegation by 56 coordinators of the movement; it has not been established. Sources: Prothom Alo.
The quota reform is gazetted
A gazette notification reforming the quota in government jobs, approved by the prime minister the day before on the basis of the court’s order, is published. [9]
Reported — published by the reports cited; not yet checked against a primary record. Sources: Prothom Alo.
The UN proposes a fact-finding mission
The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, proposes a fact-finding mission in a letter to the prime minister and receives no positive response. [1]
Reported — published by the reports cited; not yet checked against a primary record. Sources: Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).
Where in the source: UN report, para. 1
–
The prime minister visits the damage
Bangladesh Television, Rampura, Dhaka · Dhaka Medical College Hospital, Dhaka
Sheikh Hasina visits a vandalised metro station (25 July), the burned television building and hospitals (26 July), and invites families of students who were killed to her residence (28 July). On these occasions she publicly places all blame for the violence on opposition parties. [1] On 26 July she says her remark about razakars was distorted: “I never called them Razakars. They identified themselves as Razakars.” [6]
Reported — published by the reports cited; not yet checked against a primary record. Sources: Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR); bdnews24.com.
Where in the source: UN report, para. 47
“Not a solution”
A statement in the name of Nahid Islam says the movement does not regard the circular, issued without consulting those affected, as a solution: no law on the quota has passed in parliament. [9]
Reported — published by the reports cited; not yet checked against a primary record. Sources: Prothom Alo.
–
“Block raids”
Dhaka · Chattogram · Rangpur
Police “block raids” — searches of whole housing blocks — are reported across the country. By 26 July at least 555 cases have been filed and 6,264 people arrested; by the next day Prothom Alo counts 9,121 arrests in eleven days, 2,536 of them in Dhaka. [9] The UN investigators found that police, RAB and Army units carried out such raids jointly from the curfew of 19–20 July to the end of the month, often arresting people for general characteristics such as being young and unemployed. [1]
Reported — published by the reports cited; not yet checked against a primary record. Sources: Prothom Alo; Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).
Where in the source: UN report, paras. 162–167
The BNP calls for unity against the government
The BNP publicly calls for “national unity” among democratic parties, social and cultural organisations and other forces in demanding the fall of the government. [1]
Reported — published by the reports cited; not yet checked against a primary record. Sources: Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).
Where in the source: UN report, para. 48
Coordinators taken from a hospital
Gonoshasthaya Nagar Hospital, Dhaka
Nahid Islam, Asif Mahmud and Abu Baker Majumder are taken from Gonoshasthaya Nagar Hospital to the Detective Branch office on Minto Road. The home minister says they have not been arrested but taken into custody for their safety. [6] An intelligence officer with the agents threatens at gunpoint a hospital staff member who tries to stop them, the UN investigators found. [1]
Reported — published by the reports cited; not yet checked against a primary record. Sources: bdnews24.com; Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).
Where in the source: UN report, paras. 173–176
Two more coordinators
Dhaka
The Detective Branch takes Sarjis Alam and Hasnat Abdullah into custody, saying it is for their personal security and to learn about recent events. The prime minister, visiting the National Institute of Traumatology and Orthopaedic Rehabilitation, blames the violence on the BNP and Jamaat-e-Islami. [9, 6]
Reported — published by the reports cited; not yet checked against a primary record. Sources: Prothom Alo; bdnews24.com.
Mass arrests, and a recorded statement
Dhaka
As street protests ebb, security forces carry out a mass arrest campaign against students, opposition supporters and others. Six student leaders are detained; on 28 July the head of the Detective Branch publishes a video in which they denounce the protests — a statement the UN fact-finding report describes as coerced, and whose release caused public outrage. [1]
Reported — published by the reports cited; not yet checked against a primary record. Sources: Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).
Where in the source: UN report, para. 46
Also a milestone on the July overviewCoordinators still free reject the video
Dhaka
Within hours of the video, coordinators who are still free — among them Mahin Sarkar, Abdul Kader and Abdul Hannan Masud — say it does not reflect the movement’s position and was made under duress, and announce protests at eight points in Dhaka. [9] Mobile internet is restored after ten days. [6]
Reported — published by the reports cited; not yet checked against a primary record. Sources: Prothom Alo; bdnews24.com.
“Don’t ridicule the nation”
Dhaka
Hearing a petition for the release of the six coordinators and for an end to firing on demonstrators, the High Court rebukes the state’s lawyer, who had cited television footage of the six eating at the Detective Branch: “Don’t ridicule the nation.” [9]
Reported — published by the reports cited; not yet checked against a primary record. Sources: Prothom Alo.
Teachers join; processions attacked
Jahangirnagar University, Savar · Rajshahi University, Rajshahi · Chattogram · Cumilla
Teachers join the students’ programme at Jahangirnagar and Rajshahi universities. Processions in several places are obstructed and attacked; in Chattogram police use sound grenades and tear gas, and in Cumilla a student on his way to a protest is shot in the leg by an unidentified person. [9] The governing 14-party alliance decides in principle to ban Jamaat-e-Islami and its student wing. [6]
Reported — published by the reports cited; not yet checked against a primary record. Sources: Prothom Alo; bdnews24.com.
A day of mourning, and a ban
A day of national mourning is observed. [6] The government decides to ban Jamaat-e-Islami and associated organisations. [1]
Reported — published by the reports cited; not yet checked against a primary record. Sources: bdnews24.com; Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).
Where in the source: UN report, para. 48
Also a milestone on the July overviewRed, against a day of mourning
The movement rejects the state day of mourning and asks people to post red profile pictures and images with their eyes and mouths bound. Teachers, cultural activists, journalists and writers are among those who do; government supporters turn theirs black. The UN Secretary-General calls for a transparent investigation. [9, 6]
Reported — published by the reports cited; not yet checked against a primary record. Sources: Prothom Alo; bdnews24.com.
A “March for Justice”
Dhaka
Students attempt to march towards the High Court in a “March for Justice” programme. [6]
Reported — published by the reports cited; not yet checked against a primary record. Sources: bdnews24.com.
Also a milestone on the July overviewAn international investigation is discussed
The prime minister seeks help from international organisations for an investigation into the violence; the United Nations expresses interest in sending a delegation. Police block and scuffle with students and teachers at Dhaka University. [6]
Reported — published by the reports cited; not yet checked against a primary record. Sources: bdnews24.com.
Arrests, in the authorities’ numbers
- 10,525 men and 25 women arrested, including 63 children; the Dhaka Metropolitan Police made 3,083 of the arrests. The police grounded them in the Penal Code, the Special Powers Act 1974, the Anti-Terrorism Act 2009 and other laws. [1]
- A further 1,118 men and 34 women arrested. [1]
- 11,702 arrests reported. The UN investigators documented scores of arrests without valid grounds and could not document a single case in which due process was fully respected. [1]
- Prothom Alo counted 9,121 arrests in the eleven days to 27 July, 2,536 of them in Dhaka. [9]
The words of custody
Sources use these words differently; this page keeps them apart.
- Taken by the police or another force under a legal power, and so recorded.
- Held, with or without a recorded arrest; used here when a source says so.
- The authorities’ description of the six coordinators’ detention at the Detective Branch: “not arrested” but held for their safety. The UN investigators found the description to be a cover story. [6, 1]
- Held by a court’s order for questioning by the police. The UN investigators found no case in which a judge refused a remand application during the protests. [1]
- Freed, on bail or without charge. The release of people detained over the protests between 1 July and 5 August began on 6 August. [18]
- The authorities, 26–28 July 2024
- The home minister said the coordinators had not been arrested and would be released once the police judged them safe. The head of the Detective Branch wrote that they had felt “insecure”, posted photographs of them eating with him, and published their video withdrawing the protests. [9]
- The six coordinators, 2 August 2024
- Said in a joint statement after their release that the video was not given voluntarily and that “no decision” of the movement could come from the Detective Branch. [19]
- The UN fact-finding report, February 2025
- Found that DGFI and the Detective Branch arbitrarily arrested and detained the six to intimidate and silence them, that the prime minister agreed to conceal DGFI’s role behind the “protective custody” account, and that the video statement was coerced. [1]
Why the protests went on
By the time of the ruling, the UN investigators found, the movement had already widened its demands to the dismissal of the home minister and other senior officials and to criminal accountability for the police officers and Chhatra League supporters who had killed students. [1]
The movement’s own statements gave its reasons. On 22 July a statement in the name of 56 coordinators said the government could not escape responsibility for the killings “simply using a court order”; on 25 July a statement in Nahid Islam’s name said the circular, issued without consulting those affected, was not a solution; on 31 July a press note set out a new programme against “the mass killings, mass arrests, attacks and cases”. [9]
The arrests, the coordinators’ detention, the government’s visits that blamed the opposition and its ban of Jamaat-e-Islami all, in the UN investigators’ assessment, contributed to the return of mass protest at the beginning of August. [1]
This was the phase in which the movement could have ended. It did not: the arrests, the coerced video and the mourning day the movement refused to observe appear in the record as reasons for continuing, and coordinators who were still free kept calling protests.
1–4 August 2024
One demand
The coordinators were released on 1 August. Within three days teachers and activists had marched with students in Dhaka, the movement had declared a single demand for the government’s resignation, a non-cooperation programme had begun, and 4 August had become, by the counts of the time, the deadliest day of the protests so far. [6, 20, 2, 21]
The detained coordinators are released
Dhaka
The six coordinators are released from the Detective Branch office. [6]
Reported — published by the reports cited; not yet checked against a primary record. Sources: bdnews24.com.
Also a milestone on the July overview“Remembering our Heroes”
Cumilla · Narayanganj · Barishal
A programme called “Remembering our Heroes”, announced the evening before to protest the killings, arrests and attacks and to call for a UN investigation, is held to commemorate the dead. [9, 6] Clashes are reported in Cumilla, Narayanganj and Barishal. [6]
Reported — published by the reports cited; not yet checked against a primary record. Sources: Prothom Alo; bdnews24.com.
Jamaat-e-Islami is banned by notice
The government issues a notice banning Jamaat-e-Islami and its student wing, Islami Chhatra Shibir, citing their part in 1971 and alleged “terrorist activities” during the protests. [6]
Reported — published by the reports cited; not yet checked against a primary record. Sources: bdnews24.com.
Teachers call a march
Dhaka University, Dhaka
Dhaka University teachers, protesting on the campus, announce a “Droho Jatra” (march of defiance) for the next day from the National Press Club to the Central Shaheed Minar, and invite university teachers, engineers, doctors and others to join. [22]
Reported — published by the reports cited; not yet checked against a primary record. Sources: The Business Standard.
The six say the video was not voluntary
In a joint statement the six released coordinators say the video recorded at the Detective Branch was not given voluntarily, that “no decision” of the movement can come from there, and call on students and citizens to return to the streets. [19]
Alleged — an allegation by the six coordinators; it has not been established. Sources: Prothom Alo.
The march of defiance
National Press Club, Dhaka · Central Shaheed Minar, Dhaka
Thousands of students, teachers and activists march from the National Press Club to the Central Shaheed Minar, according to a report published two years later. [20]
Reported — published by the reports cited; not yet checked against a primary record. Sources: The Business Standard.
Processions attacked
Uttara, Dhaka
Processions are attacked and clashes are reported; two people, one of them a police officer, are killed. [6] In Uttara armed Jubo League supporters attack protesters outside Milestone College in support of police efforts to disperse them, the UN investigators found. [1]
Reported — published by the reports cited; not yet checked against a primary record. Sources: bdnews24.com; Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).
Where in the source: UN report, para. 94
A team of 158
The movement expands its coordinating team to 158 members — 49 coordinators and 109 co-coordinators — drawn from students protesting across the country, to be widened further with coordinators from other institutions. [11, 10]
Reported — published by the reports cited; not yet checked against a primary record. Sources: The Business Standard; bdnews24.com.
An offer of talks, declined
The prime minister offers talks, saying the doors of her residence, Ganabhaban, are open to the students; the protesters decline. [6] The Awami League names three leaders to hold talks; a coordinator, Abu Baker Majumder, tells Prothom Alo there is no longer room for discussion. [23]
Reported — published by the reports cited; not yet checked against a primary record. Sources: bdnews24.com; Prothom Alo.
The demand for the government’s resignation
Central Shaheed Minar, Dhaka
At a mass gathering at the Central Shaheed Minar on the Dhaka University campus, Nahid Islam announces a single demand: the fall of the prime minister and her government. [2] The same day, at a meeting convened by the Army chief, junior officers tell him that they do not wish to shoot at protesters, according to the UN fact-finding report. [1]
Reported — published by the reports cited; not yet checked against a primary record. Sources: Prothom Alo; Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).
Where in the source: UN report, para. 51
Also a milestone on the July overviewWhat non-cooperation would mean
Central Shaheed Minar, Dhaka
After the announcement, Asif Mahmud sets out the programme: no taxes or utility bills paid; government and private offices, courts and factories closed; no remittances through banks; transport and shops shut except for essentials. Hospitals, pharmacies, ambulances, fire services, the press and emergency internet and relief services are exempted. [12]
Reported — published by the reports cited; not yet checked against a primary record. Sources: Prothom Alo.
An organised attack in Cumilla
Cumilla
Chhatra League and other Awami League supporters with firearms, machetes and iron rods, in formations of about sixty, attack a group of male and female protesters in Cumilla; seven suffer gunshot wounds, and police make no effort to intervene. Similar attacks follow the next day. [1] Dhaka is largely calm; attacks and vandalism are reported in 11 districts. The home minister says the student movement is no longer “non-political”. [6]
Reported — published by the reports cited; not yet checked against a primary record. Sources: Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR); bdnews24.com.
Where in the source: UN report, para. 95
Non-cooperation, and a plan to hold Dhaka
On the first day of a non-cooperation programme, the Awami League declares that it will also take to the streets. [6] That night, the UN fact-finding report found, the prime minister’s security chiefs agree a plan for the Army and BGB to deploy alongside the police to stop a march on Dhaka called for the next day, if necessary by force. [1]
Reported — published by the reports cited; not yet checked against a primary record. Sources: bdnews24.com; Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).
Where in the source: UN report, para. 52
Also a milestone on the July overviewThe deadliest day so far
Enayetpur police station, Sirajganj · Feni · Ashulia, Savar · Mirpur, Dhaka · Cumilla
Severe clashes erupt across the country, killing more than a hundred people, among them 14 police officers and 19 leaders and activists of the Awami League and its affiliates, by bdnews24.com’s count; The Business Standard later counted at least 94 dead. [6, 21] In Sirajganj district a crowd attacks the Enayetpur police station, where 15 police officers are killed according to the police, and in Rayganj five local Awami League officials and a journalist are killed. In Feni 300–400 armed Awami League supporters attack student protesters, killing eight, according to the police; in Ashulia and Mirpur armed supporters led by members of parliament fire on protesters alongside the police. [1]
Reported — published by the reports cited; not yet checked against a primary record. Sources: bdnews24.com; The Business Standard; Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).
Where in the source: UN report, paras. 96, 212
An indefinite curfew
After a National Security Council meeting the home ministry declares a strict curfew to continue indefinitely, and the prime minister calls on the public to suppress the protesters, whom she calls “terrorists”, “with a strong hand”, according to the UN investigators. [1] The Prime Minister’s Office asks students and parents to return home safely, citing “militant attacks”. [6]
Reported — published by the reports cited; not yet checked against a primary record. Sources: Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR); bdnews24.com.
Where in the source: UN report, Case 6
The march on Dhaka is brought forward
Asif Mahmud announces on Facebook that the “March to Dhaka”, planned for 6 August, will take place the next day, and calls on students and the public across the country to set out for Dhaka. The movement had already urged people to form “struggle committees” in every neighbourhood and district, to carry on if the internet were cut. [13]
Reported — published by the reports cited; not yet checked against a primary record. Sources: The Financial Express.
The single demand
‘মানুষের জীবনের নিরাপত্তা ও সমাজে ন্যায়বিচার প্রতিষ্ঠার জন্য আমরা এক দফা দাবির সিদ্ধান্তে উপনীত হয়েছি। এক দফাটি হলো, প্রধানমন্ত্রী শেখ হাসিনাসহ এই সরকারের পতন ও ফ্যাসিবাদের বিলোপ।’
“We have reached a decision about a one-point demand, to ensure safety of human life and establish justice in society. The demand is the downfall of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and the incumbent government as well as abolition of the fascism.”
‘এখন আর আলোচনার সুযোগ নেই। সিদ্ধান্ত আসবে রাজপথ থেকে।’
There is no longer any room for talks. The decision will come from the streets.
By 3 August the demand was no longer about any one policy. The record shows the change happening in steps — from reform, to accountability, to resignation — each after a turn in how the protests were met.
: The march on Dhaka
Counted by those who took part as “July 36”. [4]
The day the prime minister left the country, recorded as it unfolded, with the times the sources give. This page says she left; whether she formally resigned is recorded as a disputed question.
In brief
The march on Dhaka, and the prime minister’s departure
Dhaka
Hundreds of thousands of protesters march towards central Dhaka. Police and armed Awami League supporters fire on them in many places, while the Army and BGB largely stand by. In the late morning the Army chief tells the prime minister that the Army cannot stop protesters reaching her residence; at about 2 p.m. Sheikh Hasina is flown out of Dhaka by military helicopter and then out of the country, and protesters storm her official residence. The Army chief announces her departure and promises an interim government. [1] She has lived in India since. [3]
Reported — published by the reports cited; not yet checked against a primary record. Sources: Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR); Al Jazeera.
Where in the source: UN report, paras. 52–54; Cases 6–7
Also a milestone on the July overview
The day, as it unfolded
The plan to hold Dhaka is not carried out
Dhaka
Under the plan agreed the night before, the Army and BGB were to block the routes into central Dhaka. That morning they largely stand by: one senior official told the UN investigators that BGB let some 10,000–15,000 protesters an hour pass the entry points it was to control. [1]
Reported — published by the reports cited; not yet checked against a primary record. Sources: Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).
Where in the source: UN report, para. 52; Case 6
Police still shooting
Chankharpul, Dhaka · Rampura bridge, Dhaka · Jatrabari police station, Dhaka · Ashulia and Savar bus stand, Savar
Police continue to fire live ammunition to stop the march in many places — at Chankharpul, at Rampura bridge, from Jatrabari police station, in Ashulia and around the Savar bus stand — while armed Awami League supporters also fire on protesters. “The Army knew from early that day that Sheikh Hasina had fallen, but not the police,” a police commander told the UN investigators. [1]
Reported — published by the reports cited; not yet checked against a primary record. Sources: Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).
Where in the source: UN report, para. 52; Case 6
about 11:30 a.m., Dhaka time
Soldiers fire at Jamuna Future Park
Jamuna Future Park, Progati Sarani, Dhaka
Army soldiers positioned in front of Jamuna Future Park advance on a peaceful crowd and fire at it, hitting a man in the crowd. The UN investigators authenticated and geolocated videos of the shooting and found no indication that the protesters posed any threat to the soldiers. [1]
Reported — published by the reports cited; not yet checked against a primary record. Sources: Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).
Where in the source: UN report, Case 7
The Army chief’s message
In the late morning the Army chief tells the prime minister that the Army will not be able to prevent protesters from reaching her residence. [1]
Reported — published by the reports cited; not yet checked against a primary record. Sources: Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).
Where in the source: UN report, para. 53
about 2:00 p.m., Dhaka time
Sheikh Hasina leaves
Ganabhaban, Dhaka
At about 2 p.m. Sheikh Hasina is flown out of Dhaka by an armed forces helicopter and then out of the country. Shortly afterwards protesters storm Ganabhaban, her official residence. [1] Crowds take away belongings from the residence. [6]
Reported — published by the reports cited; not yet checked against a primary record. Sources: Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR); bdnews24.com.
Where in the source: UN report, para. 53
The Army chief addresses the country
As she leaves, the Army chief, General Waker-Uz-Zaman, announces her departure in a speech, promises an interim government and to “bring justice for all the murders”, and asks protesters not to “go back to the path of violence”. [1]
Reported — published by the reports cited; not yet checked against a primary record. Sources: Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).
Where in the source: UN report, para. 54
Shooting at celebrating crowds
Uttara, Dhaka · Mirpur, Dhaka
Crowds celebrate in the streets. In some places police are still firing live ammunition at them in the afternoon; several young children are among those killed and wounded, the UN investigators found. [1]
Reported — published by the reports cited; not yet checked against a primary record. Sources: Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).
Where in the source: UN report, Case 6
Police stations and party offices attacked
Jatrabari police station, Dhaka · Dhanmondi, Dhaka · Feni
Crowds storm and burn police stations. At Jatrabari, after police had fired on crowds from the station, a mob kills two RAB officers and at least four Ansar/VDP and police officers; in Feni district three police stations are burned and looted. An Awami League office in Dhanmondi is burned after its staff have left, and several television stations are attacked, looted or burned. [1] The Bangabandhu Bhaban, Awami League offices and the houses of party leaders are attacked. [6]
Reported — published by the reports cited; not yet checked against a primary record. Sources: Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR); bdnews24.com.
Where in the source: UN report, paras. 212–219, 225
The president meets the parties
Bangabhaban, Dhaka
In the evening President Mohammed Shahabuddin meets political parties, including the BNP and Jamaat-e-Islami, and says parliament will be dissolved and an interim government formed as soon as possible. [6]
Reported — published by the reports cited; not yet checked against a primary record. Sources: bdnews24.com.
11:20 p.m., Dhaka time
The president’s address
In an address to the nation with the chiefs of the three services behind him, the president says that the prime minister has submitted her resignation letter to him and that he has accepted it. In October he said he had no documentary evidence of it; the accounts are set out under “What the record establishes”. [24, 25]
Reported — published by the reports cited; not yet checked against a primary record. Sources: bdnews24.com; Prothom Alo.
Transition, 6–8 August
Between Sheikh Hasina’s departure and the oath of 8 August: parliament dissolved, detainees released, an interim leader chosen and sworn in. What that government did next belongs to other pages.
Parliament is dissolved
Bangabhaban, Dhaka
The president dissolves parliament after meeting the heads of the armed forces, party leaders, civil society representatives and leaders of the student movement. The BNP chairperson, Khaleda Zia, is released, and the release of people detained over the protests between 1 July and 5 August begins. [18]
Official statement — stated by the president’s office, in a press release. Sources: Dhaka Tribune.
An interim leader is chosen
The Army leadership accedes to the student movement’s demand that Muhammad Yunus be appointed chief adviser to lead an interim government. [1]
Reported — published by the reports cited; not yet checked against a primary record. Sources: Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).
Where in the source: UN report, para. 55
Also a milestone on the July overviewA call to stop the attacks
A prominent leader of Students against Discrimination calls for an end to arson and attacks, in particular on media institutions and minority communities. [1]
Reported — published by the reports cited; not yet checked against a primary record. Sources: Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).
Where in the source: UN report, para. 305
A meeting at Bangabhaban
Bangabhaban, Dhaka
That night a 13-member team of Students against Discrimination, the president, the service chiefs and two Dhaka University teachers decide at Bangabhaban that Muhammad Yunus will lead the interim government; the president’s press secretary says other members will be chosen in consultation with the parties. [26]
Reported — published by the reports cited; not yet checked against a primary record. Sources: Prothom Alo.
–
Students direct the traffic
Shahbagh intersection, Dhaka
With no traffic police on the roads, students and volunteers from other organisations control traffic in Dhaka for three days. [27]
Reported — published by the reports cited; not yet checked against a primary record. Sources: Prothom Alo.
The forces move against arson
A meeting of the service chiefs and police leadership decides on firm action against arson and vandalism and on reopening police stations within 24 hours. Its statement records attacks since Sheikh Hasina’s departure on Awami League supporters, police stations and members of minority groups. Muhammad Yunus, returning from France, says his first task is law and order and urges people to refrain from attacks. [27]
Reported — published by the reports cited; not yet checked against a primary record. Sources: Prothom Alo.
The interim government takes office
Bangabhaban, Dhaka
An interim administration led by Muhammad Yunus assumes power. [4, 1]
Reported — published by the reports cited; not yet checked against a primary record. Sources: bdnews24.com; Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).
Also a milestone on the July overview
After 5 August
Violence did not end with the change of government. This part of the record is kept because it is part of what happened.
In the days after Sheikh Hasina left, the police effectively stopped functioning in many places. Crowds carried out revenge attacks and killings targeting Awami League officials and supporters, the police and media outlets seen as supporting the former government; on 5 August several television stations were attacked, looted or burned. The UN fact-finding report found that most incidents of revenge violence appear to have occurred on 5 August and the days immediately after, and that attacks on Awami League supporters continued after the interim government took office on 8 August. [1]
During and after the protests members of the Hindu community, Ahmadiyya Muslims and indigenous groups in the Chittagong Hill Tracts were attacked by mobs, including the burning of homes and some attacks on places of worship. The report found different and often intersecting motives — religious and ethnic discrimination, revenge against Awami League supporters among minorities, local disputes over land — and that some local BNP and Jamaat-e-Islami supporters were involved, but no information that the attacks were organised by those parties’ national leaderships, which condemned them. It notes that misinformation clouded the understanding of several incidents. [1]
Counts of these attacks differ by who made them. The Bangladesh Hindu Bouddha Christian Unity Council reported 1,769 attacks and acts of vandalism against minorities between 4 and 20 August. A Bangladesh Police report of January 2025 that examined those reports found 1,234 to have had a political background, 20 to have been communal in nature and 161 to be false claims. National Security Intelligence recorded 37 violent attacks on minorities between 5 and 15 August. The UN report gives no count of its own and calls for further investigation. [1]
Many perpetrators of revenge violence and of attacks on minority groups apparently continue to enjoy impunity, the report concluded; the interim government reported 100 arrests in relation to attacks on religious and indigenous groups. [1]
Further records
- According to the police, 450 of the country’s 639 police stations were destroyed or damaged in attacks. In many places officers fled or were allowed to leave; in others they were killed. The police effectively stopped functioning in many places in the days after 5 August. [1]
- In Sylhet police trapped in a station took refuge in a local mosque; in Rampura a local imam guided officers to safety; at Jatrabari, officers who escaped were sheltered by local people. [1] For three days from 6 August, students and volunteers directed traffic in Dhaka. [27]
- The BNP publicly acknowledged that some of its local leaders and activists had taken part in revenge violence and reported on 10 August that it had expelled 44 of them. On 6 August a leader of Students against Discrimination called for an end to arson and attacks, in particular on the media and minority communities. [1]
- From 8 August the interim government made restoring law enforcement its priority; soldiers and some BGB and Ansar personnel were posted to police stations until officers returned, and the chief adviser condemned attacks on minorities. [1]
- Between 5 and 15 August media and local sources reported attacks on Hindu, Ahmadiyya, Buddhist and Christian places of worship. The UN investigators also recorded the complexity of some cases: a temple attacked on 7 August was found to have been damaged in a local dispute over land. [1]
How the demands changed
From a quota to the government itself, in steps. Each demand is dated to when it was made and attributed to whoever made it; demands from different groups are never merged.
Against the reinstated quota for descendants of independence fighters, seen as favouring them over merit. [1]
Student protesters
Reform of the quota in all grades of government jobs within 24 hours, in a memorandum to the president. [9]
The Anti-discrimination Student Movement
A public apology from the prime minister and the resignation of two ministers, with further demands. bdnews24.com reports both nine demands announced by the movement and eight presented that day by three of its leaders to government officials at a meeting at Padma Guest House; Prothom Alo refers to a nine-point demand. [4, 2] Prothom Alo’s timeline of 2 August 2024 summarises both lists, which are set out on the July Uprising page; the movement’s own text of them has not been found. [9]
Anti-discrimination Student Movement
As Prothom Alo summarised the nine points: a public apology from the prime minister for the killings of students; the removal of Obaidul Quader and the home minister from their ministries and party posts; the dismissal of the deputy inspectors-general, police commissioners and superintendents in the areas where students were killed; the resignation of the vice-chancellors and proctors of Dhaka, Jahangirnagar and Jagannath universities; the arrest and prosecution for murder of police who shot students and of ruling-party supporters who attacked them; and compensation for the families of the dead and injured. [9] A coordinator, Abdul Kader, later wrote that he announced the list and that it was drafted with a leader of the Dhaka University unit of Islami Chhatra Shibir; that account is his own. [15]
The Anti-discrimination Student Movement
Eight points presented to ministers at the Padma state guest house: an investigation of every killing and the prosecution of those responsible; financial assistance and a job for one member of each bereaved family; hall seats allocated by universities rather than party groups, an end to violence on campuses and active student unions; and the withdrawal of all cases against students, with no political, legal or administrative harassment of those who took part. [9, 6]
Three coordinators: Sarjis Alam, Hasnat Abdullah and Hasib Al Islam
The dismissal of the home affairs minister and several other senior officials, and criminal accountability for the police officers and Chhatra League supporters who had killed students. [1]
The student movement, according to the UN fact-finding report
An investigation by the United Nations, and the nine-point demand, pressed through the “March for Justice” and “Remembering our Heroes” programmes. [9]
The Anti-discrimination Student Movement, in a press note from Rifat Rashid
One demand: “the downfall of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and the incumbent government as well as abolition of the fascism”, in the words of the announcement as reported in English by Prothom Alo. [2]
Nahid Islam, for Students against Discrimination, at the Central Shaheed Minar
The appointment of Muhammad Yunus as chief adviser of an interim government, to which the Army leadership acceded. [1]
The student movement, according to the UN fact-finding report
Across the country
Every place named on this page, derived from the events themselves: Dhaka first, then the others in the order they enter the record. Many districts where protests took place are not yet recorded here.
Dhaka58 events
Named in the sources: Dhaka University · Jagannath University · Shahbagh intersection · Sher-e-Bangla Agricultural University · Bangabhaban · Raju Memorial Sculpture, Dhaka University · Dhaka Medical College Hospital · Eden Mohila College · Science Lab · Bahadur Shah Park · Jatrabari · Uttara · Merul Badda · Bangladesh Television, Rampura · Setu Bhaban, Banani · Padma state guest house · Rampura · Badda · Kazipara and Mirpur-10 metro stations · Mirpur Indoor Stadium · Rayerbag · Mohammadpur · Gonoshasthaya Nagar Hospital · National Press Club · Central Shaheed Minar · Mirpur · Chankharpul · Rampura bridge · Jatrabari police station · Jamuna Future Park, Progati Sarani · Ganabhaban · Dhanmondi
Show the 58 events in Dhaka
- The High Court reinstates the quota
- The state appeals the ruling
- Rallies on five campuses, and a deadline
- –The first blockades
- No stay on the deadline day
- A second day of blockade
- Two students join the case
- The ruling is stayed
- Police use force near Cumilla University
- An investigation into “infiltration”
- Protests on a weekly holiday
- A memorandum to the president
- A remark at a press conference, and a chant that night
- A directive at night, and a statement in the afternoon
- Attacks on student protesters
- The attacks reach a hospital
- Clashes at Science Lab and in Old Dhaka
- Chhatra League is driven from the halls
- Dhaka University, and a call for a “complete shutdown”
- Private universities join
- A night in Jatrabari
- Shooting in Uttara
- Police surrounded, and buildings burned
- –Three coordinators meet three ministers
- Shooting in Dhaka, and a national curfew
- Metro stations and toll plazas attacked
- Killings by armed supporters, and by crowds
- –Three coordinators disappear
- The curfew is defied
- –Operations to clear the highway
- The Supreme Court cuts the quota
- –The prime minister visits the damage
- –“Block raids”
- Coordinators taken from a hospital
- Two more coordinators
- Mass arrests, and a recorded statement
- Coordinators still free reject the video
- “Don’t ridicule the nation”
- A “March for Justice”
- The detained coordinators are released
- Teachers call a march
- The march of defiance
- Processions attacked
- The demand for the government’s resignation
- What non-cooperation would mean
- The deadliest day so far
- The march on Dhaka, and the prime minister’s departure
- The plan to hold Dhaka is not carried out
- Police still shooting
- Soldiers fire at Jamuna Future Park
- Sheikh Hasina leaves
- Shooting at celebrating crowds
- Police stations and party offices attacked
- The president meets the parties
- Parliament is dissolved
- A meeting at Bangabhaban
- –Students direct the traffic
- The interim government takes office
Savar8 events
Named in the sources: Jahangirnagar University · Dhaka–Aricha highway · Ashulia · Ashulia and Savar bus stand
Chattogram3 events
Named in the sources: Chittagong University
Rajshahi3 events
Named in the sources: Rajshahi University
Cumilla5 events
Named in the sources: Cumilla University
Rangpur3 events
Named in the sources: Begum Rokeya University
Narsingdi1 event
Named in the sources: Narsingdi Central Jail
Gazipur1 event
Mymensingh1 event
Narayanganj2 events
Barishal1 event
Places are given in words, at the level of a city, district, campus or public building. No map is drawn until the archive holds location records precise enough to plot without guesswork.
Who took part
Students began it and the wider public joined. These are the groups whose part the sources document — not a claim that everyone took part, or that all who did shared one politics.
- Students at public universities led the first protests; after the killing of Abu Sayed on 16 July many students at private universities joined. The record names, among others, Dhaka, Jahangirnagar, Chittagong, Rajshahi, Cumilla and Begum Rokeya universities and Shahjalal University of Science and Technology. [1]
- Female students were often at the forefront of the early protests and their organisation, the UN fact-finding report found, though male-dominated leadership gradually sidelined them; women protesters were attacked in Dhaka and in Cumilla, Savar, Sylhet and Rangpur, and some were subjected to sexual and gender-based violence. [1]
- Many teenagers took part, among them school, college and madrasa students and young workers. About 12–13 percent of those killed were children, according to the figures the report examined. [1]
- From 18 July the general population took to the streets. The report describes many thousands of protesters, including women and children, from diverse socioeconomic, professional and religious backgrounds. [1]
- Doctors and other medical staff treated wounded protesters at great personal risk, in many cases for free, while some hospitals were pressured not to admit them or to record gunshot deaths as “accidental”, and at least two doctors were arrested. [1]
Not one group
The people in the streets did not share one politics. The platform that called the protests brought together a range of students, including members of the student wings of the BNP and Jamaat-e-Islami; when it called the “complete shutdown” of 18 July, the leaderships of the BNP and Jamaat-e-Islami called on their followers to support it, and many responded along with large parts of the general population. [1]
The UN investigators found that neither party’s central leadership publicly called for violence, nor urged its supporters to refrain from it; that some of their supporters and local leaders took part in violence during the protests and after them; and no information that the violence was orchestrated by either party, as the former government claimed. [1]
Teachers joined the students at Jahangirnagar and Rajshahi universities on 29 July, and Dhaka University teachers called the march of 2 August; teachers, cultural activists, journalists and writers changed their profile pictures to red on 30 July, while government supporters changed theirs to black. [9, 22]
Counting the dead
The count rose as the days went on, and different bodies counted differently. Each figure is set out with who gave it, when and on what basis; none is adopted or added to another.
What was said at the time
At least 131 deaths in four days
Media reports, as summarised by bdnews24.com
Media reports of the four days to 22 July, as bdnews24.com summarised them. [6]
“Over 300” students and others killed
Statement in the name of 56 coordinators
An allegation in the movement’s statement; no list was published with it. [9]
201 deaths
Prothom Alo
Its own tally from some hospitals, from people who brought in bodies and from relatives — not from all hospitals, the newspaper noted. [9]
858 deaths; more than 11,500 injuries
Special Cell on Uprisings, as reported by bdnews24.com
A preliminary report. [4]
The figures published since
| Figure | Produced by | What it counts | Period | As of | How |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| As many as 1,400 deaths | UN human rights office (OHCHR) | Protest-related deaths, including at least 13 women; about 12–13 percent of those killed were children | 15 July – 5 August 2024 | Report of 12 February 2025 | An assessment, not a list: OHCHR compared Ministry of Health records with lists compiled by other sources, including civil society, and removed duplicates. It did not corroborate each death, and states that not every death can be attributed to the state. [1] |
| 841 deaths; 12,272 injuries | Ministry of Health, as cited by OHCHR | Deaths related to the protests (10 of them women) and injuries recorded by the health authorities | The protests | When the OHCHR report was finalised | Hospital records. OHCHR considers them incomplete: staff were overwhelmed, some patients gave no or false names to avoid arrest, families buried some of the dead quickly, and in some cases health authorities were intimidated into not registering deaths. [1] |
| 314 further deaths | National Security Intelligence, as cited by OHCHR | Named people killed during the protests who were not in the Ministry of Health data, 40 of them children | The protests | Provided to OHCHR before February 2025 | Names and dates of death compiled from intelligence and open sources. [1] |
| 834 names | Ministry of Liberation War Affairs | People recognised by the state as martyrs of the July–August uprising | July–August 2024 | Gazette dated 15 January 2025 | An official gazette listing each person’s medical case ID, name, father’s name and addresses, but not the place or date of death. [28, 29] The ministry later said that names found to be false had been removed after verification and the gazette republished; the archive has not established the current number. [30] |
| 493 people | Ministry of Liberation War Affairs | Critically injured people recognised as “July Warriors” in “Category A” | July–August 2024 | Gazette reported on 28 February 2025 | An official gazette of recognition, not a count of all who were injured. [31] |
| 44 police officers killed | Bangladesh Police, BGB, Ansar/VDP and RAB, as cited by OHCHR | Members of the security forces, each force’s own figure: police 44 killed and 2,308 injured; BGB 3 killed and 129 injured; Ansar/VDP 3 and 63; RAB 2 and 307 | 1 July – 15 August 2024 | Provided to OHCHR before February 2025 | Each force’s own figures for its members. [1] |
| 144 deaths | Awami League, as cited by OHCHR | Officials and members of the Awami League and its affiliated organisations killed in attacks | 1 July – 15 August 2024 | Provided to OHCHR before February 2025 | A list with names, dates and causes of death. OHCHR states that it was not in a position to verify these incidents independently. [1] |
As many as 1,400 deaths
- UN human rights office (OHCHR)
- Protest-related deaths, including at least 13 women; about 12–13 percent of those killed were children
- 15 July – 5 August 2024
- Report of 12 February 2025
- An assessment, not a list: OHCHR compared Ministry of Health records with lists compiled by other sources, including civil society, and removed duplicates. It did not corroborate each death, and states that not every death can be attributed to the state. [1]
841 deaths; 12,272 injuries
- Ministry of Health, as cited by OHCHR
- Deaths related to the protests (10 of them women) and injuries recorded by the health authorities
- The protests
- When the OHCHR report was finalised
- Hospital records. OHCHR considers them incomplete: staff were overwhelmed, some patients gave no or false names to avoid arrest, families buried some of the dead quickly, and in some cases health authorities were intimidated into not registering deaths. [1]
314 further deaths
- National Security Intelligence, as cited by OHCHR
- Named people killed during the protests who were not in the Ministry of Health data, 40 of them children
- The protests
- Provided to OHCHR before February 2025
- Names and dates of death compiled from intelligence and open sources. [1]
834 names
- Ministry of Liberation War Affairs
- People recognised by the state as martyrs of the July–August uprising
- July–August 2024
- Gazette dated 15 January 2025
- An official gazette listing each person’s medical case ID, name, father’s name and addresses, but not the place or date of death. [28, 29] The ministry later said that names found to be false had been removed after verification and the gazette republished; the archive has not established the current number. [30]
493 people
- Ministry of Liberation War Affairs
- Critically injured people recognised as “July Warriors” in “Category A”
- July–August 2024
- Gazette reported on 28 February 2025
- An official gazette of recognition, not a count of all who were injured. [31]
44 police officers killed
- Bangladesh Police, BGB, Ansar/VDP and RAB, as cited by OHCHR
- Members of the security forces, each force’s own figure: police 44 killed and 2,308 injured; BGB 3 killed and 129 injured; Ansar/VDP 3 and 63; RAB 2 and 307
- 1 July – 15 August 2024
- Provided to OHCHR before February 2025
- Each force’s own figures for its members. [1]
144 deaths
- Awami League, as cited by OHCHR
- Officials and members of the Awami League and its affiliated organisations killed in attacks
- 1 July – 15 August 2024
- Provided to OHCHR before February 2025
- A list with names, dates and causes of death. OHCHR states that it was not in a position to verify these incidents independently. [1]
The archive’s position on these figures, and why none is chosen, is set out on the July overview. The register of the dead is the Martyrs page.
Sharif Osman bin Hadi in the uprising
This archive began with Hadi’s killing in December 2025. In July he was one of many thousands who took part; this is what the record holds of his part, no more.
Helps organise protests in the uprising
During the student-led uprising against the government of Sheikh Hasina he helps organise demonstrations, and comes to wider notice. [32, 33] Every account of his part in it was written after he was shot in December 2025; none gives him a formal position in the movement’s leadership.
Reported — published by the reports cited; not yet checked against a primary record. Sources: CNA; bdnews24.com.
No report from July or August 2024 names him, and no account gives him a position in the movement’s leadership; this page gives him none. What he did after the uprising is recorded in his political journey.
People of July
This page follows events, not people. The people of July — those who organised, those who were killed, those who survived — are recorded in registers of their own.
People whose part in the uprising is publicly recognised and well documented — organisers, speakers, those who led on the streets — each with what they did, when and where, and the sources for it.
People whose part was substantial but little recognised: local organisers, volunteers, medical workers, those who documented events. A profile is published only when what they did is documented.
A register of the people who died: who they were, when and where they died, what is known of how, and the sources. Unknown names are kept as “Name not recorded”, not left out.
People who were injured and survived: who they are, what happened to them and what has followed, recorded from their public accounts and published reports, without private medical detail. Thousands were seriously injured, the UN fact-finding report found. [1]
What the record establishes, and what is disputed
July moved fast, and not every account of it agrees. The grouping below is the archive’s; every item carries its sources.
Established across independent sources
- The High Court reinstated the quota on 5 June 2024, and the Appellate Division cut it to 5 percent on 21 July. [1, 6, 8]
- Six people, among them Abu Sayed, were killed on 16 July; killings rose sharply from 18 July. [1, 6, 9]
- The internet was shut down nationwide from the evening of 18 July; a curfew and the Army followed on 19–20 July. [1, 6]
- Six coordinators were held at the Detective Branch from 26–28 July to 1 August, and a video of them withdrawing the protests was released on 28 July. [1, 34, 35]
- On 3 August the movement declared a single demand for the government’s resignation; on 5 August Sheikh Hasina left the country; on 8 August an interim government led by Muhammad Yunus took office. [2, 1, 6, 27]
Found by the UN inquiry, on its stated standard
“Reasonable grounds to believe” — a standard lower than that required for a criminal conviction. A rights inquiry’s finding is not a court’s judgment.
- That between 15 July and 5 August the former government, its security and intelligence apparatus and violent elements linked to the Awami League engaged systematically in serious human rights violations in a coordinated effort to suppress the protests. [1]
- That the vast majority of deaths appear to have been caused by firearms commonly used only by the police, paramilitary and military forces: in 130 deaths examined by the forensic medicine department of Dhaka Medical College, 78 percent were caused by such weapons. [1]
- That some protesters and others in the crowds attacked police, government buildings and transport, and that crowds carried out revenge killings, above all from 4 August. [1]
Disputed
Who shot Abu Sayed?
- The police, 17 July 2024
- The first information report filed by a police sub-inspector says he fell “at one stage of firing and throwing of bricks from different directions by the protesters”, and does not mention police firing. [36]
- Prothom Alo, 28 July 2024
- Reported that several videos show police shooting him from close range, and that the doctor who carried out the autopsy found shotgun pellet wounds. [36]
- The UN fact-finding report, February 2025
- Found reasonable grounds to believe that police shot him with shotguns while he posed no threat; widely circulated footage showed the shooting. [1]
Did anyone fire guns from helicopters?
- Witnesses, as interviewed by the UN investigators
- Said they saw personnel in helicopters fire rifles or shotguns at protesters on 19–21 July in parts of Dhaka and Gazipur. [1]
- RAB and the police leadership
- RAB said it fired 738 tear gas shells and 1,047 sound and stun grenades from helicopters but never a rifle or shotgun; the police and RAB chiefs could not confirm any shooting from helicopters. [1]
- The UN fact-finding report, February 2025
- Could neither confirm nor exclude it, noting that the reported shootings fell while the internet was cut, and called for further investigation. [1]
Did Sheikh Hasina resign before she left?
- The Army chief and the president, 5 August 2024
- The Army chief announced her resignation in a televised address; that night the president, with the chiefs of the three services, said in an address to the nation that she had submitted her resignation letter and that he had accepted it. [24]
- Sajeeb Wazed Joy, August 2024
- Her son said in an interview with foreign media a few days later that she did not get a chance to resign. [24]
- The president, October 2024
- Said in an interview with the editor of Manab Zamin, published in October 2024, that he had heard she had resigned but had no documentary evidence of it: “I have failed to obtain the resignation letter despite numerous attempts.” The next day his office said all questions about her resignation had been settled by the Appellate Division’s opinion of 8 August on a presidential reference. [37]
Did the prime minister call the protesters razakars?
- Students, 14 July 2024
- Took her remark at the press conference as directed at them, and answered that night with the chant “Who are you? Who am I? Razakar, razakar.” [1]
- Sheikh Hasina, 26 July 2024
- Said her statement had been distorted: “I never called them Razakars. They identified themselves as Razakars.” [6]
Where the sources differ on details
- bdnews24.com’s timeline of August 2024 dates them to 6 June; its review of December 2024 to 5 June, the day of the ruling. [6, 4]
- Dated to 19 July by bdnews24.com, to 20 July by Prothom Alo, and to the night of 18–19 July by the UN report. [6, 9, 1]
- Prothom Alo’s timeline gives its time as 7:30 a.m.; bdnews24.com and the UN report place it in the evening. [9, 6, 1]
- bdnews24.com counted 14 police officers among the dead that day; The Business Standard later gave 13 in Sirajganj and one in Cumilla; the police told the UN investigators that 15 were killed at Enayetpur alone. [6, 21, 1]
- The UN report gives them as an appeal to “suppress these terrorists with a strong hand”; The Business Standard, a year later, as a call to “deal with anarchists with an iron fist”. Neither gives the Bangla. [1, 21]
Still unresolved
- How many people were killed, and who they all were: no reconciled list has been published, and in August 2025, 114 people buried as unclaimed at Rayerbazar remained unidentified. [1, 40]
- How far the Army was institutionally involved in the use of force: it did not answer the UN investigators’ requests. [1]
- How many members of the Awami League were killed: the party gave the UN investigators a list of 144 names, which they could not verify. [1]
- How many attacks on minorities there were, and why: counts by community organisations, the police and intelligence differ widely, and the UN report calls for further investigation. [1]
Accountability after July
The history of July continues in investigations and courts. This is a preview; the record of cases, and of what remains unresolved, is kept on its own pages.
Before 5 August 2024 the former government made no genuine effort to investigate or ensure accountability for the violations, the UN fact-finding report found. [1]
The interim government has brought cases against senior officials before the International Crimes Tribunal and in the ordinary courts. The report records concerns about due process before the tribunal, including trials in absentia and the death penalty, and about “mass cases” in the ordinary courts: by January 2025 the police reported 1,181 investigations naming 98,137 accused. [1]
The first judgment
- International Crimes Tribunal-1, Dhaka: a three-member tribunal headed by Justice Golam Mortuza Mozumder. [5]
- Crimes against humanity in the government’s crackdown on the protests of July and August 2024. [3]
- On 15 December 2025 the prosecution appealed to the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court, seeking to raise the sentences of imprisonment until natural death imposed on Sheikh Hasina and Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal to death. [5] No judgment on the appeal is recorded in this archive.
Open questions
What will the Appellate Division decide on the prosecution’s appeal?
The prosecution’s appeal to the Appellate Division was filed on 15 December 2025; this archive holds no record of its outcome. [5]
Will anyone who served in the Army or the intelligence agencies be prosecuted?
When the UN fact-finding report was finalised in February 2025 it had received no information on criminal prosecutions of personnel who served with the Army, DGFI or NSI; this archive has not yet reviewed later records. [1]
Who are the dead who have not been identified?
In August 2025, 114 people buried as unclaimed at Rayerbazar graveyard during July and August 2024 remained unidentified. [40]
Will the revenge killings and the attacks on minorities be prosecuted?
The UN fact-finding report found that many perpetrators apparently continue to enjoy impunity. [1]
Accountability information reviewed through . A conviction at first instance is not a final judgment.
July in public memory
How July has been remembered is recorded apart from what happened. Remembrance is evidence of memory, not of the events themselves.
Participants counted the uprising as a single month, marking 5 August as “July 36”. [4] The state recognised 834 people as martyrs in a gazette of January 2025, and 493 critically injured people as “July Warriors” the following month. [28, 31]
On 5 August 2025, the first anniversary, the chief adviser Muhammad Yunus read out a 28-point July Proclamation. It calls for the “student-led mass uprising” to be recognised by the state and set in the schedule of a reformed constitution, to be adopted by the next elected government, and calls those killed “national heroes”, according to bdnews24.com. [7]
The proclamation is recorded here as the interim government’s statement of how the uprising should be remembered. It is not a finding about the events, and this page does not adopt its terms.
The first interpretations
On his return to Dhaka on 8 August, Muhammad Yunus called the events “a rebirth of the nation” and said the country had been “liberated for the second time”. These are recorded here as the interim leader’s words, the first of many political readings of July; the page does not adopt them. [27]
Sources and method
This history was compiled by Justice for Hadi from the fact-finding report of the UN human rights office, read in full, and from news reports in English and Bangla, each read in full. Reports from July and August 2024 are preferred; later reports are cited for what the reports of the time do not give, and their dates are shown. Every numbered citation points to the publication that reports the event, makes the finding or carries the words quoted.
Each event carries one of the project’s evidence words. “Reported” means published by the sources cited but not yet checked against a primary record held by the project; “Alleged — by whom” means a claim made by a person or party that has not been established; “Official statement” means what an office said, not that it is true. None of the events has yet been through the project’s formal verification process. The UN report states its own standard of proof — “reasonable grounds to believe” — and a finding on that standard is not a court’s judgment.
The chronology is built from records, not written as one text: the milestones of the July overview are the same records here, merged by date with this page’s further events, so the two pages cannot tell the same event differently. Wording that takes a side — “fascism”, “martyr”, “terrorists”, “liberated” — appears only inside quotation marks, as the words of those who used it.
Historical record reviewed through . To report an error, or to offer a photograph, recording or document with its source and permission, see corrections; for how the project works, see the research methodology.
The audio archive catalogues 5 publisher-hosted documentary episodes about July 2024. They were produced later and are kept apart from the contemporary sources used in this chronology.
Sources
- 1OHCHR Fact-Finding Report: Human Rights Violations and Abuses related to the Protests of July and August 2024 in Bangladesh
Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) · 12 February 2025 · UN report · ohchr.org
Source catalogue record and provenance
↩ First cited in “What the uprising was” - 2Students Against Discrimination declares one-point demand for govt’s resignation
Prothom Alo · 3 August 2024 · News report · en.prothomalo.com
News archive record and context
Source catalogue record and provenance
↩ First cited in “What the uprising was” - 3Sheikh Hasina convicted of crimes against humanity – what we know
Al Jazeera · 17 November 2025 · News report · aljazeera.com
News archive record and context
Source catalogue record and provenance
↩ First cited in “What the uprising was” - 42024: The 36-day July uprising that pushed Hasina from power
bdnews24.com · 30 December 2024 · News report · bdnews24.com
Source catalogue record and provenance
↩ First cited in “What the uprising was” - 5ICT prosecution files appeal to enhance Hasina’s sentence to death
The Business Standard · 15 December 2025 · News report · tbsnews.net
News archive record and context
Source catalogue record and provenance
↩ First cited in “What the uprising was” - 6Timeline: How a quota reform movement caused a government to fall
bdnews24.com · 7 August 2024 · News report · bdnews24.com
News archive record and context
Source catalogue record and provenance
↩ First cited in “What the uprising was” - 7Yunus unveils July Proclamation with pledge to enshrine 2024 Uprising in Constitution
bdnews24.com · 6 August 2025 · News report · bdnews24.com
Source catalogue record and provenance
↩ First cited in “What the uprising was” - 8Bangladesh top court scraps most quotas that caused deadly unrest
Al Jazeera · 21 July 2024 · News report · aljazeera.com
Source catalogue record and provenance
↩ First cited in “Before July” - 9Quota movement timeline: Unfolding events
Prothom Alo · 2 August 2024 · News report · en.prothomalo.com
Source catalogue record and provenance
↩ First cited in “Before July” - 10বৈষম্যবিরোধী ছাত্র আন্দোলনের নেতৃত্বে এখন ১৫৮ জন
bdnews24.com · 4 August 2024 · Bangla · News report · bangla.bdnews24.com
Source catalogue record and provenance
↩ First cited in “A court ruling and the first protests” - 11Anti-Discrimination Student Movement forms 158-member coordination team
The Business Standard · 3 August 2024 · News report · tbsnews.net
Source catalogue record and provenance
↩ First cited in “A court ruling and the first protests” - 12Non-cooperation movement: What to remain open, what to remain shut
Prothom Alo · 3 August 2024 · News report · en.prothomalo.com
Source catalogue record and provenance
↩ First cited in “A court ruling and the first protests” - 13‘Long March to Dhaka’ rescheduled to Monday
The Financial Express · 4 August 2024 · News report · thefinancialexpress.com.bd
Source catalogue record and provenance
↩ First cited in “A court ruling and the first protests” - 14Despite the crackdown, the flames of uprising kept burning brightly
The Business Standard · 28 July 2025 · News report · tbsnews.net
Source catalogue record and provenance
↩ First cited in “A court ruling and the first protests” - 15How 9-point charter of demand emerged during student movement, narrates coordinator Kader
bdnews24.com · 23 September 2024 · News report · bdnews24.com
Source catalogue record and provenance
↩ First cited in “A court ruling and the first protests” - 16আইয়ুব, এরশাদ, হাসিনার বিরুদ্ধে মুখে মুখে ফিরেছে যেসব স্লোগান
Prothom Alo · 15 September 2024 · Bangla · News report · prothomalo.com
Source catalogue record and provenance
↩ First cited in ““Razakar” and the attacks on the campuses” - 1720 July 2024: At least 37 killed amid curfew; Key coordinator Nahid Islam detained
The Business Standard · 20 July 2025 · News report · tbsnews.net
Source catalogue record and provenance
↩ First cited in “Shutdown, curfew and the Supreme Court’s ruling” - 18President Shahabuddin dissolves parliament
Dhaka Tribune · 6 August 2024 · News report · dhakatribune.com
Source catalogue record and provenance
↩ First cited in “Arrests and a pause” - 19Didn’t announce withdrawal of movement voluntarily: Six coordinators in joint statement
Prothom Alo · 2 August 2024 · News report · en.prothomalo.com
Source catalogue record and provenance
↩ First cited in “Arrests and a pause” - 2033 July 2024: Droho Jatra, a girl on a rickshaw, and the regime resumed killing
The Business Standard · 2 August 2026 · News report · tbsnews.net
Source catalogue record and provenance
↩ First cited in “One demand” - 214 August 2024: March to Dhaka announced on deadliest day
The Business Standard · 4 August 2025 · News report · tbsnews.net
Source catalogue record and provenance
↩ First cited in “One demand” - 22DU teachers to hold ‘Droho Jatra’ programme tomorrow
The Business Standard · 1 August 2024 · News report · tbsnews.net
Source catalogue record and provenance
↩ First cited in “One demand” - 23সরকার পদত্যাগের এক দফা দাবি ঘোষণা বৈষম্যবিরোধী ছাত্র আন্দোলনের
Prothom Alo · 3 August 2024 · Bangla · News report · prothomalo.com
Source catalogue record and provenance
↩ First cited in “One demand” - 24President ‘lied’, must rethink if he’s fit to hold office, says Advisor Asif Nazrul
bdnews24.com · 22 October 2024 · News report · bdnews24.com
Source catalogue record and provenance
↩ First cited in “5 August 2024” - 25President’s statement on Sheikh Hasina’s resignation a lie: Asif Nazrul
Prothom Alo · 21 October 2024 · News report · en.prothomalo.com
Source catalogue record and provenance
↩ First cited in “5 August 2024” - 26Dr Yunus to lead the interim govt
Prothom Alo · 7 August 2024 · News report · en.prothomalo.com
Source catalogue record and provenance
↩ First cited in “Transition, 6–8 August” - 27Formation of interim govt: A timeline on developments
Prothom Alo · 8 August 2024 · News report · en.prothomalo.com
Source catalogue record and provenance
↩ First cited in “Transition, 6–8 August” - 28Gazette of 834 July uprising martyrs published
Prothom Alo · 16 January 2025 · News report · en.prothomalo.com
News archive record and context
Source catalogue record and provenance
↩ First cited in “Counting the dead” - 29Govt publishes gazette listing 834 martyrs of July uprising
The Business Standard · 16 January 2025 · News report · tbsnews.net
Source catalogue record and provenance
↩ First cited in “Counting the dead” - 30Ministry clarifies reports on July martyrs and warriors’ list
Dhaka Tribune · 16 September 2025 · News report · dhakatribune.com
Source catalogue record and provenance
↩ First cited in “Counting the dead” - 31Govt publishes list of ‘July Warriors’
Prothom Alo · 28 February 2025 · News report · en.prothomalo.com
Source catalogue record and provenance
↩ First cited in “Counting the dead” - 32Who is Sharif Osman Hadi, the youth leader whose assassination sparked protests in Bangladesh?
CNA · 19 December 2025 · News profile · channelnewsasia.com
Source catalogue record and provenance
↩ First cited in “Hadi in the uprising” - 33How July Uprising firebrand Osman Hadi burst into the spotlight
bdnews24.com · 14 December 2025 · News profile · bdnews24.com
News archive record and context
Source catalogue record and provenance
↩ First cited in “Hadi in the uprising” - 34Six 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 “Established and disputed” - 35DB custody: 6 coordinators announce withdrawal of programme
Prothom Alo · 29 July 2024 · News report · en.prothomalo.com
Source catalogue record and provenance
↩ First cited in “Established and disputed” - 36Abu Sayeed was killed by bullets fired by protesters, say police
Prothom Alo · 28 July 2024 · News report · en.prothomalo.com
Source catalogue record and provenance
↩ First cited in “Established and disputed” - 37Hasina’s resignation letter controversy: Here is what President says
The Business Standard (UNB) · 21 October 2024 · News report · tbsnews.net
Source catalogue record and provenance
↩ First cited in “Established and disputed” - 38অনশনের পর ডিবি কার্যালয় থেকে ছাড়া পেলেন ছয় সমন্বয়ক
Prothom Alo · 1 August 2025 · Bangla · News report · prothomalo.com
Source catalogue record and provenance
↩ First cited in “Established and disputed” - 396 coordinators of quota reform movement released
The Business Standard · 1 August 2024 · News report · tbsnews.net
Source catalogue record and provenance
↩ First cited in “Established and disputed” - 40July uprising: Many killed still remain unidentified
Prothom Alo · 5 August 2025 · News report · en.prothomalo.com
News archive record and context
Source catalogue record and provenance
↩ First cited in “Established and disputed”
What is not on this page, and why
- No photographs, recordings or facsimiles
- Many photographs, videos, posters and documents of July exist, but the archive does not yet hold one with a documented creator and permission to publish. None is shown, and no stock, illustrative or AI-generated image, and no imitation of a newspaper or poster, is used in its place. The images in the UN report are published there with permission held by OHCHR, not by this archive.
- No map
- Places are given in words, at the level of a city, district, campus or public building, and the “Across the country” chapter is derived from the events. A map will be added only when the archive holds location records precise enough to plot without guesswork, and never for private or vulnerable places.
- No single death toll
- Counts given at the time and counts published since are set out with who produced them, what they count and when. None is adopted, added to another or rounded, and the counts at the time are kept although later figures supersede them, because what was known then is part of the history.
- Event dates and source dates
- An event carries the date it happened, at the precision its sources support; a source carries the date it was published. Where a source was published long after the event — a retrospective of 2025 or 2026 — the text says so. Where sources date an event differently, every date is given.
- Locators
- Where an event rests on the UN fact-finding report, the paragraph or case number is given beside it so the claim can be checked at its place in the report.
- Quotations
- Statements are quoted only where they changed the course of events, in the English of the source that carried them, with its name. A Bangla original is printed only where a Bangla source prints it; translations by the project are marked as such.
- Names of the dead and of children
- The page names only adults whom the UN report or the July records name, and only where an event needs the name. Children are not named. The register of the dead is the Martyrs page.
- Other names for the events
- Names such as “July Revolution” are also in use. They are not recorded here until the archive has documented who used them first and when.
- The former governing party’s account
- The government’s account at the time is given as its ministers stated it and as the UN report records it. The Awami League’s published response to the UN report could not be reached to check its text, so it is not quoted.
- Sources not used
- Encyclopedia entries, social-media posts and campaign material were used only as leads, to be checked against the publications cited. Wording in a source’s own headline or narration that takes a side is not adopted by the page.
Continue the record
July Heroes
The people whose part in the uprising is documented.
Martyrs
The register of those who were killed.
Crimes & Accountability
Investigations, trials and judgments, with each person’s legal status.