Police attack on Abu Sayed reckless, unprovoked: Amnesty International

The police's attack on Abu Sayed was reckless and unprovoked, said Amnesty International in a statement today.

Police were at a distance of about 15 metres during the shooting of Abu Sayed, a 25-year-old student, who was killed in the north-western city of Rangpur, it said in a statement.

In two videos verified by Amnesty International, at least two police officers discharged 12-gauge shotguns directly at him from across the street. Sayed clutches his chest on impact as officers fired at least two more times.

Amnesty International used satellite imagery to geolocate the positions of Sayed and the police officers and found that they were at a distance of about 15 metres during the shooting. Also, Sayed posed no apparent physical threat to the police. Sayed's death certificate states he was "brought dead" to the hospital.

Derrick Pounder, an independent forensic pathologist who examined photos of the wounds to Sayed's chest, told Amnesty International, that the wounds are consistent with birdshot.

"This was a reckless, unprovoked attack on an individual posing no threat to police officers, using ammunition designed for hunting which is extremely dangerous and unlawful for use in the policing of protests." said Taqbir Huda, regional researcher for South Asia at Amnesty International.

"Amnesty International strongly condemns the killing of student Abu Sayed and the attacks against quota reform protesters at Dhaka University and other campuses across the country," he said.

"Bangladeshi authorities must fully respect people's right to freedom of peaceful assembly in line with its commitments under international law and its own Constitution and protect peaceful protesters from further harm."

At least 13 people have been killed and thousands injured in the last two days across Bangladesh.

The London-based international rights body said Bangladeshi authorities used unlawful force against student protesters and failed to ensure their protection during the ongoing "Bangla Blockade" quota-reform protest across the country.

In an earlier report, Amnesty said witness testimonies, video and photographic evidence analysed and authenticated by Amnesty International and its Crisis Evidence Lab confirm the use of unlawful force by the police against student protesters.

Eyewitnesses that Amnesty International spoke with said the protests were entirely peaceful before individuals from the BCL started attacking them on 15 July. They claimed to have identified BCL members coming out of multiple residential halls in Dhaka University, particularly the Surja Sen and Bijoy Ekattor halls, armed with rods, sticks, and clubs with a few even brandishing revolvers.

Amit, [not real name], a protester who came under attack in the Dhaka University campus, said: "We had nothing in our hands – we only had placards and flags … They started throwing bricks at us and then with iron rods … They did not discriminate between man or woman. They kicked the women in their breasts, in their stomachs, and on their heads."

Amnesty International verified videos of students being attacked on the streets and inside hospitals which corroborate the witness accounts.

A video verified by Amnesty International shows men waving their weapons while attempting to enter the Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH) on 15 July.

Rima [not real name], a master's student at Dhaka University, was one of the protesters who came under a second round of attacks at the DMCH where they were seeking treatment for their injuries.

She said: "The police were there in the hospital – [yet] the BCL came into emergency department and started attacking us again … The State launched the Chatra League against us … every time we rise up, be it the protests of 2018 or 2023 – it is used as a force to crush us."

Amnesty International urgently called on the government to rehabilitate all those injured and ensure they receive proper medical treatment.

"The authorities must also ensure that all those engaged in the attacks on peaceful protesters are held to account, and that an impartial, independent, and swift investigation is conducted against these attackers as well as the police officers who have directly perpetrated or failed to prevent such breaches of the law." said Taqbir Huda.