The Awami League has alleged that Bangladesh’s media—operating under what it calls a climate of fear and censorship imposed by the Muhammad Yunus–led interim government—published only selective and politically motivated portions of a recent United Nations human rights report, leaving the public with a distorted picture of the July–August 2024 uprising.
The party says that although the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) fact-finding team visited Bangladesh between September 2024 and February 2025 and produced a comprehensive assessment of the unrest, only the parts critical of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s administration were highlighted in mainstream coverage.
According to the Awami League, the interim administration’s censorship and intimidation have resulted in an environment where journalists avoid reporting anything that might reflect positively on the party or question the conduct of groups aligned with the current regime.
A Climate of “Reverse Intimidation” After Hasina’s Ouster
Quoting directly from the OHCHR assessment, the party pointed to one striking line:
“Since 5 August, many journalists and civil society observers have perceived a climate of reverse intimidation, where journalists and media outlets are cautious about reporting anything that could be seen as favourable to the Awami League or critical of its political opposition.”
The Awami League claims this statement alone exposes the chilling environment created after Sheikh Hasina was forced to leave the country on August 5, 2024, amid violent protests and an orchestrated campaign to dismantle the elected government.
The party says this climate of fear explains why the public has not seen the full OHCHR report, only “selectively extracted fragments” used to reinforce a narrative favourable to the interim authorities.
Deaths During the Protests: “Not All Caused by State Forces”
According to the Awami League, one of the most crucial but suppressed findings of the OHCHR report is that the casualties during the July–August unrest were not solely the result of police or state action. The party says the UN report clearly noted involvement of “various opportunistic groups,” including organized criminal elements and political actors who took advantage of the chaos.
The Awami League argues that this finding fundamentally contradicts the simplistic narrative circulated by the interim government, which exclusively blames the police and the former administration.
Historical Context: Violence Not New to Mass Movements
Bringing historical perspective, the Awami League reminded the nation that Bangladesh has faced deadly violence during political upheavals before. After the one-sided election conducted under the BNP government in February 1996, at least 171 protesters were killed in just one month.
The party suggests that the latest crisis must be evaluated within this broader historical pattern, rather than through a partisan lens designed to vilify the Awami League.
Militant Groups Were Active in 2024 Unrest, AL Claims
In another claim missing from most media coverage, the Awami League said militant groups were directly active during the 2024 uprising. The party states that Pakistan-based Jamaat-ud-Dawa and Lashkar-e-Taiba publicly boasted of their involvement in what they described as a coordinated effort to destabilize Bangladesh.
The presence of such groups, it argues, makes it more accurate to describe the July–August events as a militant-driven attack rather than a “mass movement.”
This, the party says, is among the most alarming components of the OHCHR report that the interim government has “deliberately kept out of public discourse.”
Attacks on Police Stations: A Suppressed Chapter of the Violence
The Awami League further noted that within hours of Hasina’s departure on August 5, thousands stormed the Jatrabari police station in Dhaka. More than 50 people were killed when police opened fire in self-defense—an incident largely downplayed in the media after the regime change.
Similar attacks took place in Ashulia, Savar, and across the country. In total, more than 450 police stations came under assault, with officers and civilians killed or injured in the clashes.
The party argues that these large-scale, coordinated attacks demonstrate that the violence was not spontaneous but orchestrated, and any investigation must acknowledge the scale of the assault on state institutions.
“How Can Hasina or the Awami League Be Blamed for This?”
The Awami League questions how Sheikh Hasina, the party, or its student wing Chhatra League could reasonably be held responsible for violence that unfolded after the overthrow of the elected government—when state authority had already changed hands.
Yet the OHCHR report, according to the party, attributes almost all casualties to police or security forces and disproportionately blames the Awami League and the Chhatra League.
The party calls this a “clear failure of investigation and an attempt to frame a politically convenient narrative.”
A Call for Full Disclosure
The Awami League is urging the interim government and the media to publish the complete OHCHR report so that the public can see the full context—including findings on censorship, militant involvement, opportunistic violence, and attacks on police.
The party insists that transparency is essential if Bangladesh is to confront the events of 2024 honestly, rather than through politically curated fragments.
