Short docu-film released depicting brutal Jatrabari killings on 5 August

A short documentary film, depicting the brutal killings in Jatrabari of the capital on 5 August 2024, the last day of the July-August uprising, has been released today (14 January). 

Three international organisations - the Truth and Justice Project, Tech Global Institute and the Outsider Movie Company- released the 15-minute film in both English and Bangla languages after months of detailed forensic investigation.

According to a press statement issued by the organisations, the film "seeks to reconstruct what happened outside the Jatrabari Police Station between 1.56pm and 3.30pm on 5 August 2024".

The organisations investigated 19 original videos shot by eyewitnesses along with other videos posted on social media for the film.

Following the release of the film, families of those shot during the July revolution demanded that the law enforcement authorities in Bangladesh secure and analyse original video evidence of the killings to bring the perpetrators to justice, reads the press statement.

What the film shows

The press statement reads that the video recordings begin by showing police officers in full riot gear exiting Jatrabari Police Station and firing at protesters, both indiscriminately and also in a targeted manner. The army then arrived on the scene and the police returned to the station.

"In striking contrast to the police, the military holds the crowd back, their weapons pointing downwards, and the protesters cooperate with the soldiers peacefully. The situation seems to be under control with the military appearing to provide a line of protection around the entrance of the Jatrabari police station," it states.

Then suddenly, the statement continues, a police officer inside the police compound throws a delayed action stun grenade over the heads of the soldiers at the entrance, who scatter.

"One officer inside the station urges the armed riot police to move forward; they surge out and immediately start shooting at protesters, who are armed at most with sticks and take cover or try to run away.

"The police breakout appears to be unnecessary and unprovoked, and to have directly resulted in the ensuing brutal and indiscriminate killing of protesters," it adds.

Furthermore, many police officers in full protective face helmets can be seen in the videos indiscriminately firing at protesters with what appear to be 12-gauge pump-action shotguns. "The weapons used have no rear attachments to enable accurate firing while resting on the shoulder."

Stating that the shots appear to be random, the statement adds that the police also fire lead pellets that disperse widely, and which become increasingly indiscriminate the further away the target.

"The videos then show callous executions of young men: police violently beating people lying injured on the ground and shooting at protesters at close proximity as they run away. At no time does any policeman assist the injured," reads the statement.

Meanwhile, the police and families of the victims have welcomed the film. But they demanded justice for the crimes.

"What I want is a just and fair trial," said Hafsa Bushra, the sister of one of the Jatrabari victims at a private pre-screening of the film.

"Sheikh Hasina used to say often that she lost her family but she didn't know what it was to lose a son," said Shafiqul Islam Rana, whose child was killed in Jatrabari, adding, "We are not afraid of the truth but in the Bangladeshi justice system the truth becomes falsehood and falsehood becomes the truth."

"We bled for this movement and we will be the target. What will happen to us if the former government comes back or a similar government comes to power," asked Gaziur Rahman whose only child, a 15-year old boy, was shot in Jatrabari.

"I am worried Sheikh Hasina fled but the police and administration are still the same people. I doubt justice is possible if the courts and tribunal are comprised of the same people from the previous administration," he said.

Speaking about the film, ITJF Executive Director and transitional justice lawyer Yasmin Sooka said, "After meeting the families, one has the sense that many desperately need recognition of the violations and harm they have suffered." "Reparations including interim reparations would go a long way to assist them with survival as they've lost breadwinners," she added.

Second film releasing tomorrow

The press statement notes that a second film is scheduled to launch an event in Dhaka on Wednesday (15 January).

The film "focuses on the killing of Mohammad Riddoy, a 20-year-old man, summarily executed on 5 August 2024" in a separate incident outside Shareef General Hospital, Gazipur.

"The film starts with protests outside Konabari police station in Gazipur which then erupt into cheers at 15:25 hours in the afternoon when news spreads that Sheikh Hasina has fled the
country. The protestors overturned a police vehicle and set it on fire.

"Riot police emerge from the station and start firing at protestors who flee or take cover. Twenty minutes later the footage shows a young man called Mohammad Riddoy who has been captured by the police," reads the press statement.

He was a student who became an auto rickshaw driver to fund his education, notes the statement.

"A group of armed police officers, some in helmets, beat Mohammad Riddoy and shoot him in the back at point-blank range.

"The police walk away but there are disturbing signs of movement which suggest Riddoy was still alive at this point. Thirty seconds later the police return and are filmed retrieving Riddoy's body, dragging him past the nearby hospital and in the direction of the Konabari police station, leaving a trail of blood on the ground," it states.

The press statement adds that Riddoy has never been seen since; his family have pleaded for the return of his body, but the police have denied all knowledge of its whereabouts.

 "Why did they hide the dead body," asked Riddoy's brother-in-law, Ibrahim, "Why did they disappear it? I want justice."

The press statement mentions that Mohammad Riddoy's name is still not on the official list of martyrs.

"I want him to be recognised as a martyr. We are a very poor family and I hope the government will take care of my parents," said Riddoy's sister, Jasmine Akhter.

The research for the films was undertaken by a team of Bangladesh and international journalists who sourced the original videos taken by eyewitnesses and interviewed them as well as the families of those killed. These videos along with other videos posted on social media were analysed by TGI as well as by a weapons expert.

"To help make the films, we spent weeks meticulously going through hundreds of pieces of video and satellite footage, matching locations and time codes. This is a painstaking level of effort that required a lot of different kinds of expertise to come together. Because of this detailed work, we know much more about what happened to both those killed outside Jatrabari police station and to Mohammad Riddoy, and all those families deserve to be treated with honour and respect deserving of a martyr's family," said Sabhanaz Rashid Diya, executive director of Tech Global Institute.

The films were produced by the Outsider Movie Company, an award-winning production company in the UK which has specialised in human rights documentaries. Their work on the conflict in Sri Lanka was similarly based largely on mobile phone footage and was groundbreaking in conveying an untold story of mass atrocities.

At the launch event on 15 January, the three groups will also release a written report entitled Bloodshed in Bangladesh, that focuses in depth on just one day of the anti-government protests - 19th July 2024. It's the most detailed report yet on the protests and found that three times more people were killed that day than previously documented.