Killings during July Movement will face transparent, impartial trial: PM

Prime Minister Tarique Rahman has assured grieving families of those killed during the anti-fascist movement that every killing committed during the uprising will be tried through a transparent, impartial and credible process, in line with due course of law.

He said the current government considers it essential that every crime be tried in order to establish the rule of law. The government, he added, has decided to name at least one institution in every locality after individuals who were martyred or subjected to enforced disappearance and murder over the past 17 years and during the July uprising.

He made the remarks at a discussion titled "July 36," held following the formal inauguration of the July Uprising Memorial Museum in the capital's Sher-e-Bangla Nagar on Wednesday morning (August 5).

Speaking on the museum, the prime minister said the country's pro-democracy citizens expect it will not become a platform for any single party, group or individual to establish a one-sided political narrative. "The 2024 mass uprising does not belong to any one person, group or party," he said. "The real heroes of this uprising are the pro-democracy people of Bangladesh."

He drew a parallel between the country's two defining movements, saying the 1971 Liberation War was fought to win independence, while the 2024 mass uprising was fought to protect the freedom of the country and its people. "Just as people never forgot the freedom fighters of 1971," he said, "they will never forget the martyrs of the 2024 uprising."