An injured participant of the 2024 July Uprising testified on Sunday against former law minister Anisul Huq and former prime minister Sheikh Hasina’s adviser Salman F Rahman before the International Crimes Tribunal-1, holding them responsible for his injuries and seeking their trial and compensation.
Mohammad Shakil Ahmed, a ‘Ka’ gazette-listed injured participant, testified in the case over crimes against humanity committed during the uprising.
Describing his condition before the tribunal, Shakil said, “The anus was torn and came out with flesh. Even today, I cannot go to the bathroom normally; every day, I have to endure hellish suffering to do so through dilation. Since the main artery in my right leg was cut and removed, I am unable to eat any solid food. For the rest of my life, I have to survive on liquid food.”
At one point, the witness showed the tribunal the locations of his bullet wounds.
Charges were framed against Anisul and Salman on January 12 this year. The prosecution has brought five charges against the two, including incitement, provocation and conspiracy to use lethal weapons through the imposition of a curfew.
According to the charges, their repeated instructions and activities resulted in attacks by law enforcement agencies and armed Awami League activists in Mirpur-1, Mirpur-2, Mirpur-10 and Mirpur-13, leaving many students and members of the public dead.
The prosecution also alleges that the accused took no effective measures to stop the violence and were directly involved in policy decisions to suppress the protests.
In his deposition, Shakil said he joined the movement at Mirpur-10 on the afternoon of July 18, 2024.
The following day, when he reached in front of the stadium, he saw police and some people in civilian clothes standing on the road with barricades.
“We asked the police for permission to go to Mirpur-10. The police abused us in filthy language. One policeman pressed the pistol tucked into his waist against the stomach of a senior local brother standing in front of me and, while abusing him, said, ‘Go back, or I will shoot you.’”
Shakil said they then went towards Mirpur-1 and continued looking for an opportunity to join the protests.
About half an hour later, they went to Mirpur-10 via the road beside Aalok Hospital and joined the protests. After reaching a lane near the fruit market in Mirpur-10, he saw police, Chhatra League and Jubo League activists firing at protesters.
“Suddenly, I heard a loud bang and saw a protester standing on my right fall onto the road. He started bleeding. Later, I came to know that his name was Mostakin Billah. Two others and I carried him from the main road into the lane.”
“On the way, I saw another person being shot and falling onto the road. Two or three people also carried him into that lane. A bullet entered through one side of Mostakin’s head and came out through the other side. Later, the bullet entered through the front of the other person’s abdomen and came out through his back.”
Both were put on rickshaws and sent to hospital, he said.
“The videos of these two being shot are on my phone, which I recorded myself. Later, I learned that Mostakin had died. I do not know what happened to the other person.”
Shakil said he went to Mirpur-10 at around 3:30pm on August 4 and joined the protests. He again saw police, Chhatra League, Jubo League and Awami League activists firing at protesters.
“Every 10 seconds, one protester would be shot and fall to the ground. Other protesters were taking those who had been shot to Aalok Hospital and Al-Helal Specialized Hospital. I hid under a cot belonging to street hawkers on the pavement at Mirpur-10.”
He said he heard a loud bang.
“When I turned around, I saw someone had been shot and fallen. Two protesters came towards him, and when I also came out from under the cot and stood up to help him, a bullet entered through the inside of my left buttock, passed through my abdomen and came out through the base of my right thigh.”
“The bullet entered through my buttock, tore through my anus and came out with flesh. After being shot, I ran towards the protesters seeking help.”
He said he could no longer move forward after going a little further.
“Then I put my hand around a brother’s neck and said, ‘Brother, I cannot go any further, save me.’ Then I fell down. Two or three people caught me.”
“I felt that if I died then, the police would make my body disappear. Thinking this, I gave them my mother’s phone number. I recited the Kalima two or three times and then lost consciousness.”
Shakil said he was initially taken to Aalok Hospital, where he vaguely heard doctors saying that he should be taken to Shaheed Suhrawardy Medical College and Hospital.
One of the people who took him there called his family and informed them that he had been shot.
“A short while after being taken to the hospital, I regained some consciousness and saw members of my family beside me. The doctor bandaged my wounds and said I would undergo surgery the following day.”
Shakil said he subsequently received treatment at different hospitals in Bangladesh and also underwent treatment in Thailand. However, his condition did not return to normal.
“My anus has become narrowed. I have to pass stool every day through dilation. The main artery in my right leg was damaged, so it was ligated.”
Shakil told the tribunal that approximately 1,400 students and members of the public were shot dead during the uprising and approximately 25,000 protesters were shot and left disabled or injured.
He said former minister Obaidul Quader appeared in the media on July 19, 2024 and said that a curfew has been imposed in the country and that anyone violating the curfew will be shot on sight.
“After August 5, I learned through the media, particularly from the BBC, that the masterminds behind this curfew were Salman F Rahman and Anisul Huq. I also learned that an audio recording of them had gone viral. In it, I heard one of them telling the other that the protesters had to be finished off by imposing a curfew.”
Shakil further said, “These two were Sheikh Hasina’s evil advisers. Because of their bad advice, Sheikh Hasina agreed to impose the curfew. Because of this curfew, police, Chhatra League, Jubo League and Awami League activists gained the courage to fire indiscriminately at the protesters.”
“I hold Salman F Rahman and Anisul Huq responsible for my condition and for those who were killed and injured during the movement. I want them to be tried and I want financial compensation for the damage I have suffered,” he said.
At the end of his deposition, Shakil said, “Salman F Rahman and Anisul Huq are primarily responsible for my disability today, the blood and tears of thousands of protesters. I do not want any sympathy; I want the harshest punishment for these killers and appropriate compensation for the life that has been permanently crippled.”