Bangladesh faces demand for justice over ‘unlawful killings’ during student protests

As a young man desperately drags an injured compatriot away from a group of armed police, an officer opens fire thrice at the wounded youth.

His confused companion abandons his motionless body and flees.

Protesters were decrying “discriminatory” quotas for government jobs. The alleged police killing in the clip was among dozens of similar videos that have surfaced on social media in recent days after internet services were restored in some areas.

Following the violence, critics and protesters have called for accountability from the government. Human rights group Amnesty International said on Thursday: “Bangladeshi authorities have continued to use unlawful force against student protesters.

“The continued verification and analysis by Amnesty International of video and photographic evidence that is trickling out of Bangladesh provides a grim picture.”

British political analyst and journalist David Bergman told This Week in Asia: “The protest started as a peaceful one by students demanding the withdrawal of part of the quota for civil service jobs, but on July 16 the police and the Awami League party attacked and shot at the protesters, killing six.

“Now the reported death toll is around 200, and it would appear that, facing such popular anger against them, the only way the Awami League government can remain in power … is if it uses significantly greater state repression.”

The student-led protests began in Bangladesh on July 1, with thousands taking to the streets daily to demand a reform of the so-called quota system in the country – legislation that had previously been introduced in 2018 and upturned soon after but was reintroduced in June this year.

According to the quota system, 30 per cent of civil service jobs – considered