CIVICUS speaks about protests, their repression and the changes they’ve brought about in Bangladesh with human rights defender and student leader Nahid Islam. A sociology student at Dhaka University, Nahid is one of the national coordinators of the Students Against Discrimination Movement, which formed in reaction to a specific government policy but evolved into an anti-dictatorship movement. The interview was undertaken with the assistance of researcher Shoeb Abdullah.
In July, mass student protests erupted in Bangladesh in reaction to the reintroduction of quotas in government jobs for the children of those who fought for independence. Protesters faced attacks from the student wing of the ruling Awami League party and brutal repression from security forces, which killed at least 300 people and injured thousands, along with arbitrary arrests. The movement persisted regardless, triggering the resignation of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on 5 August. Hasina fled the country and the army announced the formation of an interim government.
What triggered the protests and what were the main demands?
The movement began with a focus on reform in the quota for government jobs. The government’s response was brutal repression, resulting in hundreds of deaths at the hands of its corrupt security forces. Thousands of protesters were injured, and the government carried out mass arrests and tortured students in their homes.
Most of the media in Bangladesh acted as the government’s mouthpiece. Government ministers made false statements about us on television, and no one kept a count of the killings or bothered to identify the perpetrators. We approached many news reporters, but they said their media bosses were killing their stories, so we appealed to the international media to support the people of Bangladesh by publishing accurate and impartial news.
Early on we realised that under this government there was no possibility of justice for those assaulted by thugs and killed by the police, so we began calling for regime change. We envision a society where the safety of people’s lives is paramount, and a state that provides justice for all. So we decided to make a one-point demand: the resignation of the Hasina government. We vowed to fight her oppression with the last drop of our blood.
What happened when you were arrested?
On 19 July, the government declared a curfew. I called on students to defy the curfew and stay on the streets to demand their rights, but before I could post this on social media, the government shut down the internet and targeted those who stayed on the streets from helicopters.
That same night, I was kidnapped with three of my colleagues. A group of around 30 to 40 plainclothes government agents took me from my friend’s house in the Nandipara area of the capital, Dhaka. They first kept me hidden for 24 hours in a secret prison called Aynaghar, which we had heard about. I was kept in a closed room, blindfolded and handcuffed. I was taken to an interrogation room and subjected to physical and psychological torture. I was severely beaten with a thick stick, leaving marks that are still visible on my body. All the time they were pressuring us to stop the movement and start a dialogue with the government.
Finally, they blindfolded me and left me in an isolated place in the Purbachal area of Dhaka. Some people found me and took me to a hospital, where I was free to talk to journalists for a day or two. I even held a couple of press conferences in the hospital. But then a team from the Detective Branch (DB) of the police came and prevented me from leaving the hospital, insisting that I didn’t make any statements.
I was kept in DB custody for seven days along with two other leaders of the movement, Asif Mahmud and Abu Bakar Majumder. We were subjected to various forms of mental and physical torture. We were denied food for 32 hours and forced to read out their scripted statements. I still haven’t fully recovered from the physical weakness caused by this ordeal.
How did the internet shutdown affect the protests?
The government shut down the internet when it launched its deadly attack on protesters. This had a profound effect because we used social media to communicate, as almost all TV channels and electronic media in Bangladesh are controlled by the government and there’s no press freedom.
Of course, we faced cyberattacks regularly, including hacking of IDs and cloning of accounts. Our Facebook group, which has 500,000 members and is crucial for our movement, was hacked, and attackers spread disinformation to mislead people. Every time we tried to document the massacre on Facebook, we faced cyberattacks. Many of us also fell victim to doxing, and our families were harassed online.
But social media was key to our movement because it allowed us to send and receive quick updates and information on what was happening and where. We used it to make speeches and provide instructions to protesters. The internet shutdown completely disrupted the flow of information.
The government blocked the internet to prevent people gathering and increased surveillance, violating our constitutional rights. Without the internet, organisers were isolated from each other and protesters couldn’t know or share what was happening on the streets.
At one point we started communicating by mobile phone, but the police tracked our phones and arrested us. They admitted this when they had me in custody. They interrogated me about what I had said and why. The only way they could have known was by tapping our phones.
They also told us that the government ordered the internet shutdown. The most shocking thing about the shutdown was that it allowed the government to hide information about people being shot. Deaths weren’t reported, so we still don’t know the true number of people killed.
After a while, people were able to regroup and take to the streets again. But if the internet hadn’t been shut down, the government might have fallen sooner, and many lives might have been spared.
What do you expect from the interim government?
We have demanded that the interim government be led by the internationally renowned Nobel laureate Dr Muhammad Yunus as its chief adviser. The other members of the interim government must be honest, impartial, competent and patriotic. They must ensure justice for all the wrongs committed by the previous regime.
We want to make it clear that the future of Bangladesh must be determined by the people who participated in the mass uprising, not by some cantonment. Power must be handed over to an interim government proposed by the protest movement. We won’t accept anything less, and there is no question of an army-controlled government.
We have received information that Awami League thugs are still creating chaos and looting to discredit our movement. But we have appealed to people not to take part in any incitement, attack or looting. Those doing this aren’t revolutionary students. We urge people to make announcements from mosques in their areas about the need to stop communal attacks and ensure the safety of all, Buddhists, Christians, Hindus and Indigenous people alike. The army is clearly not doing its job properly and we’re calling on them to act immediately to keep the peace.
Killers must be brought to justice and held accountable. Political prisoners and those who’ve been kidnapped must be released. Our struggle doesn’t end with the resignation of the Hasina government; we want the abolition of this fascist system and the building of a new Bangladesh with new political arrangements. No one should leave the streets until we win the final victory.
What support do you need from the international community?
Our request to the international community is to support the just demands of Bangladeshi people and to help shape global public opinion. The government’s claim that we are responsible for the violence is false. We call on international human rights activists to investigate the situation.
The government portrayed the conflict as a political struggle between the Awami League and the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, but that’s not true. This was a conflict between a murderous government and the people, including student protesters. There were no other parties involved.
We ask human rights activists to stand in solidarity with us and spread the truth about the situation in Bangladesh. The government has killed students and other innocent people, including children. We weren’t safe in our own homes. We appeal to the international community to help us hold the perpetrators to account and to support the struggle of oppressed people in Bangladesh.
Civic space in Bangladesh is rated ‘closed’ by the CIVICUS Monitor.
Get in touch with Nahid through his Facebook page.
