Dhaka: The government today granted final approval to the draft of the ‘July Mass Uprising Protection and Liability Determination Ordinance 2026’, ensuring indemnity for those involved in the 2024 July Uprising. The ordinance was approved in a meeting chaired by Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus at the Chief Adviser’s Office.
According to Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha, Law Adviser Professor Dr. Asif Nazrul addressed the media at the Foreign Service Academy, explaining that the ordinance fulfills a prior government commitment to legally protect participants of the July Uprising. The ordinance will be enacted as law through a gazette notification within the next week, providing immunity to uprising participants from political resistance activities undertaken during July and August 2024.
Prof. Asif Nazrul elaborated that “political resistance” refers to actions aimed at restoring democratic governance by deposing the fascist regime. Individuals involved in such resistance during the specified period will be exempt from criminal charges. He clarified that any pre-existing cases against uprising participants related to political resistance will be withdrawn and no new cases will be permitted.
The law adviser stressed that the ordinance does not extend immunity to acts of murder committed for personal or self-serving motives under the guise of political resistance. Such acts, unrelated to the political objective of ending the fascist government, will not be protected under this law.
To address potential disputes over the nature of killings, the National Human Rights Commission will determine whether an act was linked to political resistance or personal interests. Families of victims can approach the Commission if they believe a killing was personally motivated. The Commission’s findings will be considered equivalent to a police investigation report in court.
If a killing is deemed part of political resistance, immunity will be granted, though the Commission may recommend financial compensation for the victim’s family if deemed appropriate. The ordinance sets the indemnity period from July 1 to August 31, 2024, drawing parallels with historical examples of indemnity for revolutionaries worldwide.
Prof. Asif Nazrul noted that the Human Rights Commission will be established by January 31, with the selection committee having already convened. He expressed optimism that Bangladesh will soon have a robust and effective Human Rights Commission.
Chief Adviser’s Press Secretary Shafiqul Alam and Deputy Press Secretary Mohammad Abul Kalam Azad Majumder also attended the briefing.