A tribunal witness has testified that protesters in Dhaka’s Jatrabari during last year’s July Uprising were shot in the head with sniper rifles on the day the Awami League-led government fell.

The witness, Ali Ahsan Junayed, a researcher and founding convenor of the post-Uprising political organisation United People's Bangladesh (UPB), recounted the harrowing events.

Junayed, who was a Dhaka University student during the 2013 quota movement, vividly described the violent crackdown on protesters during last year’s anti-quota demonstrations, painting a grim picture of the chaos and bloodshed.

The testimony was given in a case filed against ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina, former home minister Asaduzzaman Khan and former police chief Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun over alleged crimes against humanity.

The hearing took place before the three-member International Crimes Tribunal-1, headed by Justice Md Golam Mortuza Mozumder.

Junayed said he was present during the protests and witnessed the events firsthand. 

He recounted that during the protests from Jatrabari to Chittagong Road, over a hundred people were killed and several hundreds were injured. Around 134 bodies were buried as unclaimed at the Rayerbazar graveyard.

According to Junayed, after a single-point programme for the government's fall was announced on Aug 3, 2024, he and other protesters continued the protest in Jatrabari.

On that day, he alleged that police, along with members of the Bangladesh Chhatra League, Jubo League, and Awami League, launched an armed attack on the protesters, resulting in dozens of injuries and deaths from gunshots.

Junayed also testified that on Aug 5, 2024, he saw about 15 individuals with gunshot wounds to the head being taken to Anabil Hospital for treatment.

He claimed that police continued to fire at protesters from near the Jatrabari Police Station until 6pm.

His cross-examination, conducted by state-appointed lawyer Md Amir Hossain on Sunday, will continue on Monday.