The United Nations Human Rights Office has identified the killing of Abu Sayed, a student at Begum Rokeya University, as an extrajudicial execution by police during the July-August mass uprising.
According to a fact-finding report released on Wednesday, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) determined that Sayed was deliberately shot multiple times in the chest with shotguns loaded with lethal metal pellets.
The report refutes claims that his fatal injuries were caused by his head striking the ground while being transported to the hospital, saying that there was no evidence to support such an assertion.
The report details the events of July 16, when protests escalated at Begum Rokeya University.
Demonstrators attempting to enter the campus clashed with members of the Chhatra League, prompting police intervention.
Law enforcement responded by firing tear gas and blank rounds to disperse the crowd, according to police accounts cited in the report.
The official statement further claimed that Sayed succumbed to a combination of head trauma and gunshot wounds at Rangpur Medical College Hospital.
However, OHCHR’s investigation, which included video analysis and witness testimonies, concluded that police officers were directly responsible for Sayed’s death.
The report states that both law enforcement and Chhatra League supporters carried out violent attacks on protesters using batons and sticks, in addition to firing shotgun rounds loaded with lethal pellets.
Eyewitnesses and footage reviewed by OHCHR indicate that Sayed had his hands raised when officers opened fire.
Though he held a bamboo stick in one hand, there was no indication that he posed a threat to the officers positioned 14-15 metres away.
Witness accounts reveal that he defiantly shouted, “Shoot me,” before two officers fired at him multiple times, striking his torso.
Forensic analysis of videos and images from the incident, many of which were initially shared on social media and later enhanced by OHCHR’s digital forensics team, supported these findings.
The footage revealed visible red marks on Sayed’s neck and bloodstains on his clothing, while additional images documented injuries across his body, including his arms and neck.
Sayed was seen spitting blood, consistent with medical reports indicating that pellets had punctured his lungs, leading to internal bleeding.
Despite the severity of his injuries, no autopsy was conducted in line with international forensic standards, the OHCHR report states.
A forensic physician reviewing the medical evidence identified at least 40 metal pellets embedded on the right side of Sayed’s chest and 50 on the left, near critical organs such as the heart and lungs.
The physician’s findings confirmed that Sayed had been shot at close range, approximately 14 metres away, causing fatal blood loss.
Abu Sayed, 23, became the first casualty of the July uprising, an event that intensified nationwide student protests against discrimination and ultimately led to the overthrow of the Sheikh Hasina-led government.