Dhaka: At least 36 attacks were carried out on individuals who actively participated in the July-August mass upsurge, as well as their families, across different parts of the country in the last nine months, a study by the Press Institute of Bangladesh (PIB) has revealed.
According to Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha, the Fact Check, Media and Research wing of PIB, known as ‘BanglaFact’, conducted the study. By analyzing news published in various national and regional media outlets, BanglaFact identified these attacks on uprising participants and their families. The study notes that no political affiliations were found in nine of these cases, and it acknowledges the possibility of more attacks that were not reported or captured due to research limitations.
In the last nine months, 27 of the attacks on July protestors and martyrs’ families were identified as politically related. In approximately 48% of these politically related cases, allegations were made against leaders and activists of the Awami League and its affiliated organizations. Besides physical assaults, the study also uncovered incidents of desecration of martyrs’ graves, including the vandalism of Faizul Islam’s grave on April 26 and Sayem’s grave on March 14, both located in Keraniganj near the capital. Sayem’s mother accused local Awami League leader Sirajul Islam of the crime.
The investigation by BanglaFact highlighted that the largest group involved in these 27 politically related attacks were leaders and activists of the Awami League or its affiliated organizations, including the banned Chhatra League and Jubo League. They were implicated in 13 of the 36 incidents. Notably, on January 25, Awami League leaders and activists attacked two coordinators of the anti-discrimination student movement at Gopalganj Science and Technology University while capturing an activist of the banned Chhatra League and handing him over to the police.
Media reports also indicated that two journalists were injured in these incidents. Mostak Ahmed Noman, the organizing secretary of the banned Upazila Chhatra League, was arrested in connection with an attack on Mubarak Hossain Abhi, the coordinator of the anti-discrimination student movement, in Gouripur, Mymensingh, on December 21 of the previous year.