A picture is worth a thousand words, and sometimes it can even shock the whole country.
In Bangladesh, university student Abu Saeed stood alone with arms outstretched and a stick in hand facing heavily armed police in what many saw as a turning point in the country’s recent widespread protests against government job quotas.
As the video shows, within seconds the young man was shot, but he continued to stand even as more shots were fired. He collapsed within minutes.
The July 16 incident went viral, prompting more students to join the protests against reservation of civil service jobs for the families of veterans of the country’s 1971 war of independence.
What followed were days of rioting and unprecedented violence. Bangladeshi security agencies have been accused of using excessive force – firing tear gas, rubber bullets, pellet guns, sonic grenades and live rounds – a charge they deny. Eventually a curfew was imposed and orders for summary shooting were given.
Respected Bangladeshi daily Prothom Alo and AFP claimed the violence left more than 200 people dead, including several students and three police officers. According to the interior minister, the official government statistics is 147.
But exact details — and more footage showing what happened on the streets — have been slow to come out, in part because of government-mandated internet shutdowns.
However, since broadband was partially restored last week, more footage of the violence has emerged.
In an incident confirmed by the BBC verification team, a young man was trying to pull his injured friend to safety in the Jatrabari area of the capital Dhaka.
Within seconds, a plainclothes police officer wearing a helmet appeared to be firing in the direction of the two men. After a while, the young man left his seriously injured friend and ran to safety.
Irene Khan, a senior UN expert, told the BBC that this and Abu Said’s video showed “unlawful killings”.
“Abu Said did not pose any threat to the police. But what they did was to shoot him at close range, which was clearly an act of unreasonable and disproportionate violence,” Special Report on the Promotion and Protection of the Right to Freedom of Opinion and Expression Ms. Yuan Khan explained.
U.S. Environmental Protection AgencyBangladesh’s Deputy Minister of Information and Broadcasting Mohammad Ali Arafat agreed that the video of Mr Saeed’s shooting appeared to be “illegal”.
“It’s absolutely vivid and clear,” he said. “The guy was standing with his hands and chest outstretched and was shot very close to him.”
Arafat added that the incident would be investigated and said an independent judicial committee had been set up to investigate.
A third video, examined and confirmed by the BBC’s verification team, shows heavily armed troops firing at a group of protesters from a distance in Dhaka’s Mohammadpur area.
But Dhaka Metropolitan Police spokesman Farooq Hussain defended their actions, saying the officers fired in self-defence.
“Police use force to save lives and property. Any police officer will shoot (shoot) only when questioned about private (self-defence) situations,” Mr Hussain said in a WhatsApp message.
Officials produced video of another incident that appeared to show a group of people targeting a police vehicle in Dhaka’s Utara area and then beating an officer inside.
“them [protesters] Mr Arafat claimed he killed a policeman and hung him upside down in Dhaka’s Chhatrabari area. A ruling party activist was also allegedly beaten to death.
Arafat said the violence was “not one-sided – people need to see both sides and see what is going on”, adding that security forces were outnumbered and attacked in multiple places because they were not allowed to fire .
A second video sent by the government showed an injured police officer being carried away by colleagues.
The government claims supporters of the main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and Jamaat-e-Islami party infiltrated student protests, launched violent attacks on security forces and set fire to state property.
Critics dismissed the claim as an attempt by the ruling Awami League to divert attention.
Since the protests subsided, activists and local media said the government has launched a crackdown, arresting more than 9,000 people, including opposition supporters.
Student protest leaders were also rounded up – The government said the move was “for their own security”.
Experts warn Bangladesh could see further unrest as the government cracks down on demonstrators.
“There is no trust between countries and people, you can see that. That’s why these protests and horrific situations are happening,” said Ms. Khan, the UN expert.
Ben Yamin Mollah, one of the student movement coordinators, echoed her sentiments, saying she “lives in fear of being arrested.”
“The government has betrayed us,” he told the BBC.
Additional reporting by BBC Dhaka Bengali
