[🇧🇩] Those who have laid down their lives to free Bangladesh

[Saif]

https://thefinancialexpress.com.bd/national/rizvi-pledges-to-honour-victims-of-july-august-uprising

Rizvi pledges to honour victims of July-August Uprising
UNB
Published :
Dec 09, 2024 21:31
Updated :
Dec 09, 2024 21:31

BNP senior leader Ruhul Kabir Rizvi has vowed to ensure due respect for those killed during the July-August Uprising, should his party be elected to power.

He emphasised gratitude towards the martyrs and injured participants of the student movement, proposing that their sacrifices be commemorated by naming roads and structures after them to preserve their legacy.

He said this while speaking as the chief guest at a programme organised by 'Amra BNP Paribar', an organisation that works within the party to look after the wellbeing of the families of activists. On Monday it was in Manikganj's Shibalaya to provide financial assistance to the families of those killed in police firing during the mass movement.

He said, "If you dig a hole for others, you yourself will fall into that hole, proof of which is the 'fascist' Sheikh Hasina. She herself fell into the hole while trying to establish the BAKSAL built by her father."

He further stated that Sheikh Hasina had kept the national leader Begum Khaleda Zia in prison without any crime. She fled the country, taking responsibility for the killing of 2,000 students in the face of the mass movement of students and the public. She believed that her master, the Indian government, would help her remain in power, but it could not, added Rizvi.

The BNP leader also remarked that Sheikh Hasina used to criticize Tarique Rahman for giving video messages. Today, Sheikh Hasina herself is continuing her mischief through video messages on Facebook and YouTube. "Where has her bravery gone?" he questioned.​

 

[Saif]

Identify all martyrs of the July mass uprising

How else can we honour them for their sacrifices?

www.thedailystar.net

Identify all martyrs of the July mass uprising
How else can we honour them for their sacrifices?

VISUAL: STAR

The delay in identifying hundreds of individuals killed during the July-August uprising is quite disappointing. According to a Prothom Alo report, 80 unclaimed bodies were buried in July and 34 in August at the burial ground adjacent to the Rayerbazar Mass Killing Site Memorial by the volunteer organisation Anjuman Mufidul Islam. Despite clear evidence that some of the graves at the cemetery contain the remains of those killed in the uprising, the exact number remains unknown.

Anjuman Mufidul Islam reported burying 515 unclaimed bodies between January and November, an average of 47 per month. In July, however, the number surged to 80. In August, 34 bodies were buried, with no burial requests made during the first 11 days due to the unrest. Identifying those who died in the protests requires investigation and DNA testing, but progress has been slow. As a result, many protest victims buried in Rayerbazar remain unidentified, leaving their families unable to locate their loved ones' graves or claim compensation. While some families have confirmed through personal efforts that their relatives were buried as unclaimed bodies at Rayerbazar, they remain unable to identify the specific graves.

One such victim is Mahin Mia. His brother, Abdul Jabbar, recounted that they had both participated in a protest at Town Hall in Mohammadpur on July 18. When Mahin did not return home, Abdul searched police stations and morgues in surrounding areas before learning, through photographs from Anjuman Mufidul Islam's office, that Mahin had been killed and buried in Rayerbazar. Fifteen days after Mahin's death, his wife gave birth to their only child.

One such victim is Mahin Mia. His brother, Abdul Jabbar, recounted that they had both participated in a protest at Town Hall in Mohammadpur on July 18. When Mahin did not return home, Abdul searched police stations and morgues in surrounding areas before learning, through photographs from Anjuman Mufidul Islam's office, that Mahin had been killed and buried in Rayerbazar. Fifteen days after Mahin's death, his wife gave birth to their only child. Unfortunately, such heartbreaking stories are quite common, but we are yet to have a comprehensive list of those killed during the uprising.

As of December 18, the Health Directorate's website listed the names and identities of 860 individuals who were killed. Earlier, the health subcommittee for the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement reported 1,581 deaths based on available data. This discrepancy suggests that nearly half of those killed remain unidentified.

It is crucial for the government to preserve the graves of the martyrs, including those at Rayerbazar, to allow families to identify them. The government established a Special Cell on the Mass Uprising to create a final list of the deceased, and on November 10, it issued a public notice requesting relatives of individuals who were killed, went missing, were buried as unclaimed, or died during treatment between July 15 and August 5 to register their names. However, as an official from the cell has noted, no significant applications have been received.

Therefore, it is high time the government stepped up efforts to identify those killed, including through raising public awareness about the cell and dedicating further resources to this vital task. Preserving the memories and graves of these martyrs is essential to honour their sacrifices and provide closure for their families.​

 

[Saif]

First phase draft list of martyrs in uprising published

The first phase draft list of martyrs and injured in the July-August student-people uprising has been published. This draft list has been published on the website of the Special Cell on Mass Uprising https://musc.portal.gov.bd to finalize the list of the martyrs and injured, according to an offici

thefinancialexpress.com.bd

First phase draft list of martyrs in uprising published
BSS
Published :
Dec 21, 2024 20:17
Updated :
Dec 21, 2024 20:17

The first phase draft list of martyrs and injured in the July-August student-people uprising has been published.

This draft list has been published on the website of the Special Cell on Mass Uprising গণঅভ্যুত্থান সংক্রান্ত বিশেষ সেল to finalize the list of the martyrs and injured, according to an official handout on Saturday.

The Health Services Division, the Directorate General of Health Services, the District Committees formed in 64 districts and the Special Cell on Mass Uprising are working tirelessly to finalize the list of those injured and martyred in the July-August uprising.

The two published draft lists of the first phase will be available to the public until December 23, added the release.

It requested the family members, heirs and representatives of the martyrs and injured persons to give their opinion to verify, bring correction and finalize the names, addresses, and other relevant information of the martyrs and injured persons published in the two draft lists.

The handout also requested to send opinion or suggestion regarding the published list or any reasonable information for inclusion or deduction, if there is any, to the e-mail of the Special Cell on Mass Uprisings at muspecialcell36@gmail.com by December 23.​

 

[Saif]

Body of July uprising victim exhumed from Pabna graveyard

Body of a student who was a victim of July-August uprising was exhumed from the graveyard today after four and a half months at Jorgasa Shorup village in Pabna's Shanthia upazila

www.thedailystar.net

Body of July uprising victim exhumed from Pabna graveyard

Body of a student who was a victim of July-August uprising was exhumed from the graveyard today after four and a half months at Jorgasa Shorup village in Pabna's Shanthia upazila.

Deceased Julkar Naine, 17, son of Abdul Hai Al Hadi of village Nandanpur, was killed during the mass uprising on August 5 at Baipail of Savar in Dhaka. A case was filed later with the Ashulia Police Station.

Saidur Rahman, officer-in-charge of Shanthia Police Station, said that members of Criminal Investigation Department (CID) headquarters are now investigating the case.

As part of the investigation a team led by CID Inspector Mushfukur Rahman reached the graveyard and exhumed the body in presence of an executive magistrate around 11:00am, he added.

The body was sent to Pabna General Hospital morgue for autopsy, the OC also said.

Julkar was the student of Polashbari JL Model School and College and joined a procession along with others on that day, according to the police and family.

The victim's family members brought the body on the same night and buried him at Jorgasa graveyard on August 6 without an autopsy.​

 

[Saif]

Mass uprising: Victims, families struggle as frustrations grow

Sufferings and frustrations continue to deepen among the injured and the families of those killed in the July-August student-led mass uprising, while the July Shaheed Smrity Foundation, launched on...

www.newagebd.net

Mass uprising: Victims, families struggle as frustrations grow
Kamrun Nahar Sumy 06 January, 2025, 23:46

July Shaheed Smrity Foundation yet to reach most families

Sufferings and frustrations continue to deepen among the injured and the families of those killed in the July-August student-led mass uprising, while the July Shaheed Smrity Foundation, launched on September 17 to support them, has yet to reach most of those affected till now.

As of December 31, the foundation, established with an initial amount of Tk 100 crore from chief adviser Muhammad Yunus’s relief and welfare fund, has provided Tk 1,00,000 each to 1,601 injured individuals, and Tk 5,00,000 each to 628 families of the martyred.

The Mass Uprising Special Cell under the Health Services Division on December 21 released a first draft list identifying 858 martyrs and 11,551 injured during the uprising that began on July 1 with protests demanding quota reform in civil service jobs and culminated in the ouster of the Sheikh Hasina-led Awami League regime on August 5.

The draft list indicates that only around 18 per cent of the victims received financial support as of December 31.

Meanwhile, injured individuals, some on crutches, from Dhaka and beyond, are repeatedly visiting the foundation office at the BSL Building in the capital, with hope to get financial assistance for various needs, including repaying treatment-related loans, covering follow-up medical expenses, or ensuring their daily meals.

Md Yasin, a 25-year-old who was shot in the leg at the capital’s Banglamotor on August 4, said on December 25 that he submitted all the required documents in November but had yet to receive any response from the foundation.

‘I had to collect and submit all the necessary documents with my wounded leg, which I cannot bend, to get immediate financial assistance, but a month has passed, and there’s still no update,’ said Yasin, who needs regular therapy costing Tk 600 per session while also supporting his family in Sunamganj.

‘It seems no one cares about us anymore,’ said the frustrated youth, who had to leave his previous job due to the injury and recently took another private car driving job for Tk 20,000 a month.

The wife of a martyr named Delwar, who was shot three times in the abdomen on July 19 in Mirpur-10 and died on July 21, has also been visiting the foundation since November. She was informed only on December 31 that there were issues with the submitted documents that needed to be fixed. ‘Coming from Mirpur Sare Egaro with three minor children is a serious hassle and costly job,’ said the widow, who has no earning member left.

Another victim, Sabbir Ahmed, a private university student, alleged on December 31 that his name was listed in the government record and that he submitted all the required documents to the foundation around a month ago.

Sabbir claimed that the foundation had been giving excuses, including getting the signatures from foundation general secretary Sarjis Alam and chief executive officer Mir Mahbubur Rahman Snigdho, for the delay in disbursing the funds.

New Age on December 25, 26 and 31, spoke to more than 20 victims who alleged a slow verification process, poor communication, misplacing files submitted for financial assistance, and delays in obtaining required signatures from the authorities as reasons for their lingering wait.

Most of them also said that they were unable to reach the foundation’s hotline, 16000, for information and faced rude behaviour from some of the staff when visiting the office to seek assistance or updates.

Acknowledging that the number of injured receiving assistance is below expectations, Sarjis Alam at a press conference at the foundation office on January 1, ‘We are checking two things: whether the victims are listed in the health ministry’s data centre and if they have submitted the required documents to the foundation. To prevent fraudulent cases, once both criteria are met and verified separately by the foundation, we disburse the funds. Thus, the process takes some time.’

‘Once the government publishes the gazette, the foundation will be able to disburse the funds within a maximum of four days, as separate verification by the foundation will no longer be necessary,’ he added.

He further said that initially the foundation gave priority to the martyrs’ families to give the assistance and as they had covered a good number of these families, they would now focus on the injured victims.

Sarjis, a key coordinator of Students Against Discrimination platform, also cited the insufficient number of employees—only 35 in total—as a reason for the delay, adding that just six members were working in the call centre run by the foundation, limiting their capacity to take calls from the victims.

Regarding the staff misbehaviour, chief executive officer Snigdho, who is also the twin brother of martyr Mir Mugdho, said that a ‘complaint box’ would be set up in front of the office to address the issue.

The non-political, voluntary, and public welfare-oriented organisation, led by chief adviser Muhammad Yunus as president, was established to provide immediate healthcare, financial relief, and long-term support to the families of the martyrs and the injured of the July uprising.

As of December 31, it had disbursed Tk 47.32 crore out of its current fund of Tk 109.20 crore.​

 

[Saif]

Help for uprising victims should have already been shored up

SUFFERINGS have intensified and despair has deepened for the people who became wounded in and for the families who lost their members to the July-August uprising, with the July Shaheed Smrity Foundation — set up to provide early health care, financial assistance and long-term, sustainable...

www.newagebd.net

Help for uprising victims should have already been shored up
08 January, 2025, 00:00

SUFFERINGS have intensified and despair has deepened for the people who became wounded in and for the families who lost their members to the July-August uprising, with the July Shaheed Smrity Foundation — set up to provide early health care, financial assistance and long-term, sustainable support for the martyrs and the victims of the uprising — going slow apparently because of procedural delay, if not inefficiency, that the government has yet to adequately attend to. It has not been able to reach the help to most of the victims. The foundation was set up on September 17, 2024, a little more than a month after the interim government was installed on August 8, with an initial amount of Tk 1 billion from the chief adviser’s relief and welfare fund. The foundation has until December 31, 2024 disbursed Tk 100,000 each to 1,601 people who became wounded and Tk 0.5 million each to 628 families of the people who died in the student protests seeking reforms in civil service job reservations, spearheaded by the Students Against Discrimination, which began on July 1, 2024 and flared into an uprising later that month to ultimately topple the 15 years of the authoritarian regime of the Awami League. The amount disbursed in all reached Tk 473.2 million out its current fund of Tk 1.09 billion.

The Health Services Division on December 21, 2024 published a draft list of 858 people who died and 11,551 people who became wounded in the protests and subsequent uprising. The figures suggest that the foundation has been able to provide only about 18 per cent of the victims until December 31, 2024. Many of the wounded, some on crutches, and members of the victim families, meanwhile, keep visiting the foundation office at Shahbagh in Dhaka, seeking financial assistance mainly to repay the loans that they took to pay for their treatment, to bear the expenses of medical follow-up or even to buy their daily meals. Whilst some say that they have not yet received any help although they submitted the documents needed for the help a month ago, some say that they laboured to visit the office at intervals and only after a month or so, they are told that there were problems with the documents that needed to be sorted out. Some of the wounded having already lost their job because of the injuries and some in severe hardship having lost the only breadwinner of the family have even alleged misbehaviour of the people at the foundation. Most of them have complained that they could not call to the foundation’s hotline for information and they faced rude behaviour from some foundation staff when they had visited the office. Sarjis Alam, a coordinator of the Students Against Discrimination who is the foundation’s general secretary, seeks to say that the delay is consequent on the verification of information with the data centre and the papers submitted. He also complains of a shortage of human resources, 35 in all, six of whom run the call centre.

Issues of help for the uprising victims, wounded or dead, should have already been adequately shored up in view of their sacrifice in the uprising that brought about the political changeover. They should not suffer any longer.​

 

[Saif]

July Uprising: Six bodies of martyrs found in DMCH morgue

Six bodies of martyrs from the July uprising have been found in the forensic department of Dhaka Medical College Hospital.

www.thedailystar.net

July Uprising: Six bodies of martyrs found in DMCH morgue

Photo: Collected

Six bodies of martyrs from the July uprising have been found in the forensic department of Dhaka Medical College Hospital.

The special cell for the July uprising at DMCH revealed this during a press conference yesterday, reports UNB.

The identities of the bodies are as follows -- an unidentified male aged around 20, an unidentified male aged around 25, an unidentified male of around 22, an unidentified male of around 30, an unidentified female of around 32, and Enamul, 25.

The forensic team has completed autopsies and collected DNA samples. Reports indicate that five individuals died from injuries, while Enamul succumbed to a fall from a height, according to the cell's secretary Hasan Inam.

"We discovered that six unidentified bodies from the uprising were at Dhaka Medical College Hospital. This morning [yesterday], our team visited Shahbagh Police Station to gather detailed information. Officer-in-charge Khalid Mansur confirmed that six bodies were in the morgue, and these bodies belong to the protesters of the uprising," he said.

"However, the police have not clarified when the bodies were brought here," he added.

The special cell urged anyone missing a person of the mentioned ages to contact them at this number -- 01621324187.

Contacted, Shahbagh OC Khalid Mansur said the bodies haven't been handed over to Anjuman Mufidul Islam yet, as people continue to come and check the bodies daily. A committee, to be formed under the DMP Commissioner's guidance, will decide further actions regarding the bodies.​

 

[Saif]

Film by three int'l orgs documents Jatrabari carnage on Aug 5

The 15-minute film seeks to reconstruct what happened outside Jatrabari police station between 1:56pm and 3:30pm on August 5, 2024

www.thedailystar.net

Film by three int'l orgs documents Jatrabari carnage on Aug 5

Families of those shot during the July revolution are demanding that the law enforcement authorities in Bangladesh secure and analyse original video evidence of the killings to bring the perpetrators to justice, said a press release issued by three international organisations—International Truth and Justice Project, Tech Global Institute and The Outsider Movie Company—who have launched a film today on the August 5 killings in Jatrabari after months of detailed forensic investigation.

The 15-minute film, released in English and Bangla, seeks to reconstruct what happened outside Jatrabari police station between 1:56pm and 3:30pm on August 5, 2024. The investigation located 19 original videos shot by eyewitnesses along with other videos posted on social media, said the press release.

During the launch event on January 15, the three groups will also release a written report titled "Bloodshed in Bangladesh". The report provides an in-depth focus on just one day of the anti-government protests - July 19, 2024. According to the press release, it was found that three times more people were killed that day than previously documented.​

 

[Saif]

Jatrabari: Evidence of atrocities​

 

[Saif]

MASS UPRISING: Physician, 4 others sent to jail over treatment denial

A Dhaka court on Saturday sent Delta Health Care, Rampura Limited’s physician, Sadi Bin Shams, and four other hospital employees to jail in connection with the death of rickshaw-puller...

www.newagebd.net

MASS UPRISING: Physician, 4 others sent to jail over treatment denial
Staff Correspondent 19 January, 2025, 00:12

A Dhaka court on Saturday sent Delta Health Care, Rampura Limited’s physician, Sadi Bin Shams, and four other hospital employees to jail in connection with the death of rickshaw-puller Mohammad Ismail, allegedly caused by treatment denial after he was shot during the 2024 Student Movement Against Discrimination.

Metropolitan magistrate Masuma Rahman issued the order after Hatirjheel police sub-inspector and investigation officer Hiron Mollah produced the accused before the court, seeking their detention in the murder case.

The five accused—Dr Sadi, marketing officer Hasan Mia, maintenance staff Borhan Uddin, and security guards Ismail and Nasim Uddin—were arrested on Friday at the health care building following a murder case filed by the victim’s wife, Lucky Begum.

The case was filed after the fall of the Awami League government on August 5, 2024, during the student-led mass uprising.

According to Lucky’s complaint, Ismail was shot during a police crackdown on July 19, 2024 during the protest.

Severely injured, he sought treatment at Delta Health Care, Rampura Limited but was allegedly denied care by the physicians and the employees.

Despite pleading for assistance, Ismail was left to die on the health care building’s staircase.

The complaint further stated that Dr Sadi and the hospital staff were aware of Ismail’s critical condition but failed to provide any medical attention.

Their inaction directly resulted in his death, the investigation officer informed the court, adding that police had found evidence of negligence in the actions of the accused.

Lucky also alleged that Ismail’s body was buried without a post-mortem examination due to threats from the accused.

Ismail’s case is among several incidents highlighting the alleged negligence and failure of hospital authorities to treat victims during the July-August uprising, raising concerns over accountability in the healthcare system during crises.​