Indemnity for July warriors set for review

Staff Reporter :

The interim government is preparing a legal framework to grant indemnity to the July fighters who, according to officials, risked their lives to free the country from what they describe as a fascist regime during the July 2024 mass uprising.

On Thursday, Law Adviser Asif Nazrul stated that the July fighters had acted “at the risk of their lives to liberate the country from fascist rule” and therefore “certainly deserve indemnity.”

In a post on his verified Facebook page, he said the fighters had engaged in defensive actions against what he described as the perpetrators responsible for the death of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina during the uprising, arguing that legal protection for such actions was essential. “As part of the July mass uprising, they carried out resistance activities against the killers of fascist Sheikh Hasina. There is a need to enact a law granting them indemnity for that,” he wrote.

Asif Nazrul emphasised that such legislation would be entirely lawful. Citing international examples, he noted that after revolutions or mass uprisings – including those during and after the Arab Spring – several countries enacted indemnity laws following the fall of unpopular or authoritarian governments.

He also referred to Bangladesh’s constitutional and historical precedents. “Article 46 of the Constitution provides the legal basis for indemnity laws,” he said, adding that after the Liberation War, an indemnity law was enacted in 1973 to protect freedom fighters.

On the basis of these precedents and legal provisions, the Law Ministry has already prepared a draft indemnity ordinance, he added. “Inshallah, it will be placed for approval at the next meeting of the advisory council,” the law adviser wrote.

Highlighting the political and moral significance of the issue, Asif Nazrul said that safeguarding the legacy of the July uprising was a collective responsibility. “Keeping July safe is our sacred duty,” he added.