Awami League leader and son of five-time Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, Sajeeb Wazed Joy, has sharply criticised Dr. Muhammad Yunus for granting legal immunity to protesters involved in the killings of police officers and Awami League activists during the 2024 regime change riots.
“The mockery of justice continues in Bangladesh,” he stated in a post on X on Monday, amid a culture of impunity for the power usurpers and repression against the Awami League.
In early January, Sheikh Hasina drew attention to the imprisonment of thousands of Awami League activists without fair trials or adherence to the rule of law. She highlighted how individuals who confessed to burning police stations, killing officers, and destroying national assets were quickly granted bail and hailed as “July heroes” under the Yunus administration.
“Those who commit destructive acts are now heroes,” she remarked, contrasting this with the Awami League’s developmental achievements during its tenure.
In October last year, Sheikh Hasina slammed the Yunus regime’s indemnity provisions in the July Charter, accusing it of protecting killers and anarchists. She described how rioters looted homes, killed people, raped women, and faced police retaliationโonly to be labelled heroes now.
“There will be no trial for the police murders. Their relatives will die crying for justice because these are July heroes,” she denounced. She detailed brutal acts, including tying victims’ legs and hanging them from flyovers, or killing Awami League leaders and activists and suspending them from trees, calling it “brutal torture and murder” where the perpetrators have become celebrated figures.
July Charter: Sheikh Hasina condemns indemnity for โkillings by July heroesโ
Yunus approves controversial indemnity law for safeguard of July rioters
Under Yunus, law and order in Bangladesh at its worst in history
In September 2024, the regime issued the “National Stability Ordinance” with retrospective effect from July 15, 2024, indemnifying forces in “stabilisation efforts” after arrests of students in police murder cases.
By then, student coordinators, BNP and Jamaat-Shibir leaders, Hizb ut-Tahrir, Hefazat-e-Islam activists, and Pakistan-based groups like Lashkar-e-Tayyiba (LeT) and Jamaโat-ut-Dawa had publicly boasted of police murders, arson, and looting during the riots.
During the protests and after the government’s fall, law enforcement faced attacks, with government offices vandalised and set ablaze. Government records indicate 44 police personnel were killed during the unrest, with 187 still missing. The Awami League reports over 230 of its leaders and supporters killed between July 16 and August 8, 2024, among whom 26 were killed in July.
The deadliest incident of police murder was at Enayetpur police station in Sirajganj on August 4, where 15 officers, including OC Md. Abdur Razzak were beaten and burned to death. Several leaders of the BNP and Hefazat-e-Islam have admitted to launching the Enayetpur attack.
Additionally, one BGB member and two Ansar personnel were killed, with 64 BGB and hundreds of police injuredโ637 suffering limb losses and over 3,000 seriously hurt.
Police Headquarters data shows attacks on 460 establishments, with 58 police stations and 26 outposts set ablaze, and vandalism on hundreds more, including 56 stations and 73 auxiliary facilities.
GCDG report recalls police killings, release of militants in July-August 2024
Sheikh Hasina accuses Yunus of engineering killings
Reports also confirm attacks on 17 prisons during July and August 2024, leading to unprecedented breaches. In the chaos, 2,247 prisoners escaped from five facilities, with two prisons fully emptied.
New Ordinance Grants Sweeping Immunity
Media reports on Monday revealed that the Jamaat-controlled interim government issued the “July Mass Uprising (Protection and Liability Determination) Ordinance,” providing legal protection to participants in the July Uprising and mandating the withdrawal of all cases against them. The ordinance assigns the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) to investigate any murder allegations against these participants.
The ordinance stipulates: “All civil or criminal cases, complaints, or proceedings filed against participants in the July Uprising shall be withdrawn pursuant to sub-section (2), and no new cases shall be filed against them under Section 5.” Sub-section 2 outlines the process: If the government certifies a case was filed due to Uprising involvement, the public prosecutor submits it to the court, which then halts proceedings and releases or acquits the suspect immediately.
For murder complaints, the NHRC handles investigations with restrictions: “No current or former official of any institution or force shall be assigned to investigate such cases without prior approval.” The ordinance defines “institution or force” as any body established under Bangladeshi law. If the NHRC identifies “criminal misuse during chaotic events,” it reports to the court, treating it as a police report for action.
OHCHR Bangladesh head Huma Khanโs deep state mission nears end
July Martyrs Scandal: Forged lists, and a flood of fabricated murder cases
Interview With The Independent: Sheikh Hasina stands tall, debunks propaganda
However, killings classified as “political resistance” are exempt from prosecution; instead, the government may offer compensation to affected families. “Political resistance” is defined as actions to restore democratic governance by toppling a fascist ruler, while “criminal misuse during chaotic situations” refers to murders for personal interests, not political ones.
The ordinance justifies the protection: “As the student and mass uprising in JulyโAugust 2024 aimed to overthrow a โfascistโ ruler and restore democracy, human rights, and the rule of law, participants are entitled to protection under Article 46 of the Constitution.” It notes that during the uprising, defensive measures were taken against state-directed killings and armed attacks to maintain public order. The ordinance takes immediate effect and applies retroactively from July 1, 2024, aligning with safeguards in the July Charter.
Sheikh Hasina vows to handcuff Yunus, tie rope around his waist
ICRF: OHCHR narrative is super biased, it blames Awami League for everything
Ex-FM Momen bins OHCHR report, asks UN chief to reinvestigate violence
This ordinance marks a dangerous move toward institutionalising impunity for serious crimes, reminiscent of Bangladesh’s darkest historical precedents, where indemnity laws shielded perpetrators of human rights violations, eroding justice and accountability.
Shielding Bangabandhu’s Assassins (1975)
After the assassination of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman (Bangabandhu) and his family on August 15, 1975, the military regime under Khondaker Mostaq Ahmed issued the Indemnity Ordinance in September 1975, later constitutionalised under Ziaur Rahman to prevent prosecution of the coup plotters. This protected assassins for years, with some gaining diplomatic roles. It was repealed decades later, allowing trials and convictions. The current indemnity risks whitewash similar political violence.
Impunity in Operation Clean Heart (2002โ2003)
Under the BNP-Jamaat government, “Operation Clean Heart” involved joint military-police actions against alleged criminals, resulting in dozens of extrajudicial killings, torture, and custodial deathsโoften labelled “heart attacks.” An Indemnity Bill protected security forces, setting a precedent for unpunished state violence. A High Court verdict declared the indemnity illegal in 2016.
Political observers say the illegal indemnity ordinance issued by Yunus will also be annulled in the future, and the perpetrators will be brought to justice. For example, Nepal launched an investigation into the murder of police and anarchy, as well as the death of protesters, soon after the September 9 changeover last year. The interim government also arrested over 400 anarchists and initiated legal proceedings against them. Nepal also stopped mob violence within hours after the then-prime minister KP Sharma Oli resigned.
English 
Bengali