The Bishwo Shahitto Kendro, the rights-based think tank Sapran (Safeguarding All Lives) organized a panel discussion titled “The Anatomy of Headshot: State-sponsored Violence and the Lethal Suppression of Protesters during the July Uprising” on Wednesday in Dhaka.
The event highlighted how, during the mass uprising of July–August 2024, law enforcement agencies and state-backed groups systematically targeted protesters with headshots.
The discussion also critically examined the unregulated use of lethal force by security forces, the prevailing culture of impunity, and how a fascist state ideology enables and legitimizes such violence and brutality.
The discussion was joined by academics, eminent journalists, legal experts, and family members of victims. The session began with an introductory statement by Sapran researcher Nusrat Jahan Nisu, who outlined the organization’s mission and objectives.
A short video was screened showing footage of state-executed “headshots” during the uprising.
On behalf of Sapran, researcher Zeba Sajida Saraf presented the key findings of the position paper titled “They Aimed at Our Heads: Anatomy of Targeted Headshots & State-sponsored Violence in Bangladesh’s 2024 Mass Uprising.”
She explained how authoritarian regimes strategically use violence as a tool to suppress dissent and consolidate power, and discussed the policy recommendations proposed by Sapran.
At this point in the event, Md Solaiman Topu, brother of martyr Md Atiqur Rahman, recounted the brutal police violence in the Kajla area of Jatrabari during the protests.
He said: “From 5-year-old children to 55-year-old elders, everyone stood up with a spirit of resistance in the July movement.” As a member of a martyr’s family, he demanded justice and called for reform in Bangladesh’s judiciary.
Sirajul Islam, brother of martyr Mohd Sajidur Rohman Omor, also spoke and said in remembrance: “Even now, our mother cries for Omor. She used to say she wished Omor would never grow up – and yet he left us so soon.” He demanded justice and prosecution of the law enforcement personnel responsible for the killings.
Dr Bokhtiar Ahmed, professor at Independent University, Bangladesh, said: “Although I was deeply pained and outraged by the state's massacre of our children in July, I was not surprised. They had been preparing for this for 15 years.”
He added: “The barrel of the gun is the source of power; the gun is the dictator’s drug.”
Criticizing the continued presence of colonial-era laws in the Constitution, he gave a detailed account of extrajudicial killings under the past regime. He remarked: “Before our very eyes, a government declared itself a murderer – and we watched helplessly.”
He called for a national reconsideration of when and to what extent we need the police.
Dr Rezwana Karim Snigdha, associate professor in the Department of Anthropology at Jahangirnagar University, stated: “By targeting the head, the state does not only kills the individual—it seeks to assassinate their thoughts and ideals.”
Referring to necropolitics and class inequality, she explained how the government used labels like “razakar” and “anti-liberation” to justify the killing of innocent people. She emphasized the need for the nation to break free from the entrenched culture of violence.
Journalist Zina Tasreen called for transparency in the procurement of the weapons used by law enforcement and emphasized the need for accountability.
Sadman Rizwan Apurbo, lecturer at BRAC University, discussed the legal and political implications of the headshots in July.
He argued that the Awami League government completely disregarded legal frameworks during the uprising, violating both the Constitution and international human rights law.
He said: “The state killed its citizens in cold blood.” Describing the police brutality, he added: “Listening to the police, you wouldn’t think they were civil servants – they sounded like student wing thugs.” He strongly demanded accountability and justice.
After the panel discussion, an intensive Q&A session took place. In the closing remarks, Md Zarif Rahman, research director at Sapran, stated: “Our mission is not only to document human rights violations but also to expose the narratives through which the state attempts to justify these violations in the public sphere.”
