‘Doctor removed oxygen mask and covered my son’s face,’ Faiyaz’s father tells the tribunal

The father of Farhan Faiyaz, a martyr of the July uprising, on Wednesday gave his testimony before Bangladesh’s International Crimes Tribunal, describing how doctors removed his son’s oxygen mask moments after he arrived at hospital and how alleged ruling party activists later tried to seize the teenager’s body.

Shahidul Islam Bhuiyan, the first prosecution witness in a case over the killing of nine people in Mohammadpur during the July 2024 mass uprising, testified before a two-member tribunal panel led by Justice Md Shafiul Alam Mahmud.

Farhan Faiyaz, a Grade 11 science student at Dhaka Residential Model College, was shot on July 18, 2024 while participating in the anti-discrimination student movement near Dhanmondi-27, his father told the court.

According to Shahidul, his son had joined a peaceful protest with friends after attending college that morning. He said the demonstrators were unarmed when police and activists aligned with the then-ruling Awami League allegedly attacked them.

“At around 2:30 p.m., I received a phone call informing me that Farhan had been shot. Hearing that my only son had been hit by a bullet, I almost lost my senses,” he testified.

Shahidul said he rushed from his office in Malibagh toward Dhanmondi before learning that his son had been taken to City Hospital in Lalmatia.

“When I reached the hospital, the scene was horrific. Students covered in blood were crying out in pain. I ran to the ICU and saw Farhan with an oxygen mask on his face. I stood there praying to Allah. At one point, the doctor removed the oxygen mask and covered his face with a cloth. That was when I realized my son was no longer alive,” he told the tribunal.

The death certificate later stated that Farhan had died at the scene, he added.

Shahidul further alleged that police and Awami League activists surrounded the hospital, making it difficult for relatives to leave with the body. He claimed security forces continued using sound grenades and tear gas in the area and that injured students faced obstacles in receiving treatment.

The witness said Farhan’s body was eventually taken through a rear gate for funeral preparations before being brought to Dhaka Residential Model College for funeral prayers.

He also alleged that their funeral procession was stopped twice on its way to the family’s ancestral home in Narayanganj, first at Kakrail and later at Jatrabari, where the vehicle carrying the body was vandalized.

“They probably wanted to take away the body,” Shahidul told the court.

In his testimony, he named 28 accused, including former minister Jahangir Kabir Nanak, former Sheikh Fazle Noor Taposh and former Dhaka Metropolitan Police commissioner Habibur Rahman, seeking punishment for those he believes were responsible for his son’s death.

The tribunal recorded his statement as proceedings continue in the case related to the July 2024 violence.