Highway of Death: 60 killed in 7 hrs

At least 60 people were killed within just seven hours in a one-kilometre stretch of the Dhaka-Chattogram highway. Some 56 of them were shot dead.

This happened on the day of former prime minister Sheikh Hasina’s fall on 5 August, 2024 in the face of the July Mass Uprising, along the Dhaka-Chattogram highway under the Jatrabari police station. The account and evidence of the killings has been revealed in an investigative documentary made by Prothom Alo which shows at least 117 people were killed in the Jatrabari area during the uprising.

The documentary titled "Highway of Death: Jatrabari Killings" was released on Prothom Alo’s website and its YouTube channel yesterday, Tuesday. Viewers can watch the documentary on Prothom Alo’s website and YouTube channel.

The official launch and special screening of the documentary were held at the Prothom Alo office in Karwan Bazar in the capital Tuesday afternoon. Interim government’s law adviser professor Asif Nazrul was present at the event.

He said, “Even in a battlefield, it is not permissible to kill a fleeing or unarmed person or somebody who is writhing in the agony of death. Under any law in the world, this constitutes a war crime. But during the July uprising, we saw people being shot dead while fleeing. A man, writhing in pain and pleading with folded hands, was shot at close range.”

He questioned, “How monstrous must be the person who has turned the police into such an inhuman, reckless, and terrifying force!”

There are countless videos of people being killed indiscriminately during the July uprising, Asif Nazrul said, adding, “If we were to conduct the trial by Sheikh Hasina’s standard, it would have been completed in four to five months. We are conducting the trial after thorough investigation and necessary legal amendments to ensure the trial remains internationally and nationally credible, so that even after 20 or 30 years, no one can raise questions about it.”

Asif Nazrul believes that even if Sheikh Hasina’s trial for the July massacre is concluded, it may not be possible to bring her back to the country. He said, “I think she will spend her final days in India.”

The Prothom Alo documentary is 35 minutes long. But it took five months to complete the investigation. Hundreds of video footage have been collected. Those incidents have been analysed down to the hour, minute, and second.

Multiple footage captured at the same location during most of the killings were examined frame by frame, synchronising with gunshot sounds.

Through such detailed analysis of several videos, a complete reconstruction of specific killings has been made. The analysis even identified from which building the fatal shots were fired. Expert opinions have also been taken into account in this process.

In making the documentary, interviews were conducted with at least 50 individuals involved in the movement, along with those who captured the video footage, solely to understand the incidents.

Additionally, Prothom Alo spoke with the families of all 60 people who were martyred that day. The causes of their deaths were traced by analysing footage from the scenes, eyewitness accounts, and death certificates of the victims.

The documentary was created by a team led by Prothom Alo senior content creator Abdullah Al Hossain.

Following the screening, journalist David Bergman said, “From a journalistic perspective, Prothom Alo’s documentary on the Jatrabari killings is undoubtedly a commendable piece of investigative reporting. It is the kind of investigation that shows how a story can deeply touch people’s hearts.”

Referring to a scene in the documentary where a person with a flag tied around his forehead is shot in the head, associate professor of the Department of Accounting at Dhaka University, Moshahida Sultana, said in her remarks, “After witnessing such a scene, words fail. What could be a greater tragedy than this?”

Among the others who were present at the screening are – writer and researcher Gawher Nayeem Wahra, political analyst Altaf Parvez, political analyst Zahed Ur Rahman, Jahangirnagar University teacher Snigdha Rezwana, columnist and cultural activist Sanjeeb Drong, Sight Savers’ advocacy and communication coordinator Khondkar Sohel Rana, Dhaka University teacher Tariq Monzoor, writer on power, energy, environment and development economics Kallol Mostafa, and head of communications at UNDP Bangladesh Abdul Qayyum.

Also present at the event were Prothom Alo Editor Matiur Rahman and other senior staff members.

The event was moderated by Prothom Alo’s Executive Editor Sajjad Sharif.

Speaking about Prothom Alo’s role during the July uprising, he said that information was hard to obtain at the time. When the government was carrying out killings to cling to power, there were attempts to suppress such information. Prothom Alo, from a place of responsibility, kept track of the death toll with courage.

He added that Prothom Alo published the death figures only after verifying them from multiple sources. Prothom Alo’s aim was to deliver accurate information to the people. Even after the July uprising, Prothom Alo has been undertaking various initiatives to keep the public informed.