Govt clears ordinance granting indemnity to July uprising workers

The July Uprising exposed a deeper crisis of legitimacy in Bangladesh’s institutions that a truth commission could help restore.

The interim government on Thursday approved a draft ordinance granting indemnity to participants of the July 2024 mass uprising.

The approval came at the weekly meeting of the Council of Advisers held at the Chief Adviser’s Office, chaired by Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus.

Law Adviser Asif Nazrul said the ordinance, titled the July Mass Uprising Protection and Liability Determination Ordinance 2026, would be promulgated through a gazette notification within the next five to seven days.

Briefing reporters in the capital, he said the core objective of the ordinance is to provide legal immunity to individuals who took part in activities aimed at political resistance during the July–August 2024 uprising.

According to the law adviser, such activities were carried out with the intention of restoring democratic governance through the fall of what he described as a fascist government.

He added that participants involved in the uprising during July and August 2024 would be exempted from criminal liability for actions undertaken in pursuit of that objective.

Chief Adviser’s Press Secretary Shafiqul Alam and Deputy Press Secretary Abul Kalam Azad Majumder were also present at the briefing.