Bangladesh’s interim government approves law to protect ‘July warriors’ from prosecution

DHAKA: Bangladesh’s interim government of Muhammad Yunus on Thursday approved a draft ordinance to indemnify from prosecution the protesters who led the demonstrations that toppled then prime minister Sheikh Hasina’s Awami League regime on August 5, 2024. At a press briefing, Law Adviser Asif Nazrul said “the July revolutionists” were indemnified for the acts they committed with an aim of “political resistance” during the uprising under the “July Mass Uprising Protection and Accountability Ordinance”. “We had announced this earlier. It was our commitment to the July revolutionists,” he said, emerging from a meeting of the advisory council chaired by Yunus. Nazrul said the “political resistance” in the case of the ordinance “meant the acts committed by July revolutionists to restore democratic governance system toppling the fascist government”. He said the government would withdraw if any case was filed by now and no new case could be lodged against the July revolutionists, often called “July warriors”. The adviser, however, added the law would not spare anyone who murdered others in July and August for any personal or narrow interest. The development came over a week after an inter-ministerial meeting asked the Law Ministry to quickly draft an indemnity ordinance for those involved in the student-led uprising.