A survivor of the July Uprising told the International Crimes Tribunal-1 today that he saw protesters being shot and collapsing to the ground every 10 seconds in Mirpur-10 on August 4, 2024.

Md Shakil Ahmed, a prosecution witness in the crimes against humanity case against former law minister Anisul Huq and Salman F Rahman, a former adviser to ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina, testified that police and members of Chhatra League, Jubo League and Awami League were firing relentlessly at protesters.

Shakil said he joined the movement after attacks on protesters at Dhaka University on July 15 and the killing of Abu Sayed in Rangpur the following day. On July 19, at Falpatti Lane in Mirpur-10, he saw police and Awami League activists firing at protesters. A protester beside him, later identified as Moktakin Billah, was shot in the head and later died. Another was shot in the abdomen.

As the shooting continued, Shakil was hit by a shotgun pellet in the head while looking out from the lane. He took shelter near a closed tea shop, but was hit by another pellet in his right knee while moving forward. He then went to Alok Hospital, where he saw several severely injured protesters, including one with his skull blown open and another with a gunshot wound to the eye, he testified.

He returned home and remained on bed rest until August 1.

After recovering enough to move around, Shakil rejoined the movement on August 2 and took part in protests at Mirpur-10 the following day, when demonstrators were demanding Sheikh Hasina’s resignation.

Shakil testified that on the morning of August 4, he saw armed Awami League men blocking the road in front of Alok Hospital amidst the curfew. He returned home but later watched live news of four protesters being shot dead by police in Chattogram.

He had to persuade his mother to join the movement that day, and later reached Mirpur-10 in the afternoon.

It was there that Shakil witnessed what he later described as one of the most horrifying scenes of the July Uprising. Police and members of Chhatra League, Jubo League and Awami League were firing incessantly at protesters.

“Every 10 seconds, a protester was shot and fell to the ground,” he told the tribunal, adding that fellow protesters were carrying the wounded to hospitals.

While hiding under a hawker’s bed, Shakil was shot again. A bullet entered through the left side of his lower body, passed through his abdomen and exited near his right thigh, causing serious internal injuries.

Bleeding heavily, he collapsed and gave fellow protesters his mother’s phone number, fearing that police might make his body disappear if he died.