Human rights advocacy group Write For Rights has issued an urgent call for the United Nations to launch an official, independent investigation into every reported death during the July-August 2024 student-led protests in Bangladesh and the subsequent violent events following the fall of the Awami League government on August 5, 2024.
In a press release dated March 1, 2026, the organization highlighted the need for a comprehensive probe to establish facts, identify perpetrators, and ensure impartial accountability for all parties involved. The protests, which began over reforms to the public service job quota system, escalated into nationwide unrest, with security forces under the former government accused of using excessive and lethal force against demonstrators.
Credible reports, including an unofficial and one-sided fact-finding assessment by the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), estimate that up to 1,400 people may have been killed between mid-July and August 15, 2024. The report has drawn severe criticisms for not having a UN mandate, ignoring statements of the Awami League government officials, and amplifying baseless claims made by the interim government, Jamaat-Shibir, BNP and other extremist elements who were involved in serious crimes like murders, arson, rape and looting.
They carried out massive revenge violence from August 5, after the then prime minister, Sheikh Hasina, left the country, including mob attacks, killings, looting, arson, extortion, and targeted assaults, often directed at individuals linked to the former ruling party, police, or minority communities. These incidents, as noted in various sources, including the OHCHR report, underscored persistent challenges in maintaining the rule of law and preventing impunity. The interim government did not take any legal actions against the violations by protesters and issued an indemnity ordinance giving them immunity.
The so-called “revolutionaries,” now comfortably ensconced in power, are scrambling to justify the carnage, insisting the killings were “necessary” to oust the Awami League government.
Now that an elected government is in power, under the leadership of the BNP, it is unlikely that it will take any measures to break the silence on the much-talked-about police massacre and murder of Awami League members and minorities.
Write For Rights has outlined several key demands:
– A UN-led investigation covering all deaths from July 2024 onward, encompassing protesters, police officers, Awami League members, and victims of post-August 5 mob violence.
– Full accountability and prosecutions for mob-related crimes where evidence supports it.
– Immediate revocation of any indemnity orders or ordinances that protect individuals from prosecution for violence during this period.
– Withdrawal of false or politically motivated cases filed in retaliation.
– Release of innocent detainees held without bail, fair trial, or due process, including those imprisoned for political reasons.
“The people of Bangladesh deserve truth, justice, reparations, and the restoration of democracy based on impartial accountability,” the release stated. It emphasized that impunity—whether for actions by former state actors or subsequent mobs—undermines public trust and risks perpetuating cycles of violence.
Probir Kumar Sarker, Founder and Chairperson of Write For Rights, specifically urged the UN, OHCHR, and the international community to support and initiate the independent probe without delay. “We stand in solidarity with victims, families of the deceased, the injured, and all those seeking justice in Bangladesh,” he said.
Since the OHCHR report is one-sided and the trials of the student murder cases have been illegal and flawed, Write For Rights argues that a broader, ongoing UN investigation is essential to address all unresolved incidents and promote genuine reconciliation.