Evidence of Sabrina Afroze Sebonti

My name is Sabrina Afroze Sebonti. I am a 4th-year student in the Department of English at Bangladesh University, Mohammadpur, Dhaka. I am the sister of martyr Mahmudur Rahman Saikat, and I myself am also a “July fighter.”

On Friday, 19 July 2024, my brother Saikat, after finishing the Jumma prayers and having lunch at home, went towards the southern end of Noorjahan Road, Mohammadpur, to join the protest. There he was shot dead by police.

At that time, my father was at our ancestral home in Sandwip. From there, he repeatedly tried to call Saikat’s phone. Eventually, an unknown person answered and informed him: “Your son has been shot dead by police. I am taking him to the hospital. You should come quickly.” Hearing this, my father instructed my cousin, Saifur Rahman, to go to the hospital.

When I arrived at the hospital, I saw the body of my brother along with five other dead bodies. My brother had been shot in the head, and there were visible bullet wounds on his head, chest, and stomach. While I remained at the hospital, injured protesters continued to be brought in, many of them shot. The hospital floors were covered in blood. I saw one person pouring water from a bucket to wash away the blood flowing from my brother’s head.

Seeing my brother’s body, I broke down in tears. As my mother was alone at home, I left my cousin at the hospital and returned home. That night, around 9:00 p.m., my cousin formally received custody of Saikat’s body from the hospital.

On the following day, 20 July 2024, after his funeral prayer, Saikat was buried in the graveyard of the Jame Mosque at Tajmahal Road, Mohammadpur.

Later, in August 2024, the autocratic killer and illegally elected head of government at that time, Sheikh Hasina, fled the country. A few months later, I came across certain phone recordings of Sheikh Hasina. Al-Jazeera interviewed me, and during the interview their journalist played for me a phone conversation between Sheikh Hasina and the then Vice-Chancellor of Dhaka University, Maksudul Kamal.

In that conversation, Sheikh Hasina branded the protesters as “Razakars” and declared: “The students will be killed in the style of England. I will use helicopters to locate the protesters’ positions and then fire on them to kill them.” In that phone call, Sheikh Hasina specifically mentioned the Mohammadpur area, where my brother had been shot dead by police.

Subsequently, through social media, I came to know of another leaked phone conversation of Sheikh Hasina, in which she gave direct instructions to bomb the students.

Regarding my brother’s killing, parts of my Al-Jazeera interview were later published in a documentary on their official page.

For the murder of my brother, I hold the killer Sheikh Hasina and police officer Chowdhury Abdullah Al Mamun responsible. I also hold accountable those who followed their orders and opened fire on unarmed, innocent students and civilians, killing and injuring them. I demand their trial and capital punishment.