News Flash
DHAKA, July 16, 2026 (BSS) - July Shaheed Dibosh (July Martyrs' Day) is being observed in the country today.
The day commemorates Abu Sayed, the first martyr of the 2024 student-led quota reform movement, and all others who lost their lives during the July Uprising.
Marking the day, the national flag remains at half-mast on all government, semi-government, and autonomous buildings, as well as educational institutions and Bangladesh missions abroad.
Religious institutions across the country are holding special prayers and supplications for the salvation and forgiveness of the martyrs.
July 16, 2024, is widely viewed as the catalyst that transformed a localised government job quota reform movement by students into a nationwide mass uprising.
On this day, Abu Sayed, a 23-year-old student at Begum Rokeya University in Rangpur, was shot and killed by police. Video footage of him standing unarmed with his arms outstretched in defiance became the defining visual symbol of resistance.
Alongside Abu Sayed, at least five other demonstrators were killed across Dhaka, Chattogram, and Rangpur on July 16. This daylight violence triggered intense public outrage, drawing citizens, families, and workers out to the streets to support the students.
This momentum directly led to the "36 Days of July" movement, resulting in the fall of the Awami League government on August 5, 2024.
On July 2, 2025, the Cabinet Division issued an official gazette notification declaring the July 16 as the "July Martyrs' Day".
On the occasion, President Mohammed Shahabuddin and Prime Minister Tarique Rahman issued separate messages.
In his message, President Mohammed Shahabuddin paid deep tribute to all martyrs of 2024 July Mass Uprising and called for collective efforts to build a discrimination-free equitable Bangladesh envisioned by the martyrs.
Prime Minister Tarique Rahman in his message recalled the contribution of those who embraced martyrdom and the wounded in the July movement-which turned into a mass uprising to free the nation from the fascist regime.
He said the July 16 is being observed as the historic July Martyrs' Day across the country with profound respect, mourning, and gratitude for the martyrs, along with a renewed commitment to institutionalising democracy in every sphere of the nation.
On this day in 2024, at least six people were martyred during the anti-fascist movement, including Abu Sayeed, a student of the Department of English at Begum Rokeya University in Rangpur, who was shot by police, and Mohammad Wasim Akram, a college student in Chattogram, the premier mentioned.
In Rangpur, Shaheed Abu Sayeed stood before the police with his arms outstretched, baring his chest in defiance, he said, adding that the image of police firing at Abu Sayeed stirred intense outrage among people who aspired to democracy, he added.
Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) has already announced comprehensive security measures across Bangladesh to ensure the peaceful observance of the July Martyrs' Day.
In a statement, RAB said it has strengthened security arrangements in coordination with other law enforcement agencies, intelligence services and local administration following an overall assessment of potential security risks.
As part of the security plan, RAB has intensified intelligence gathering, deployed plainclothes personnel along key routes, increased patrols and established additional checkpoints at strategic locations. Security has also been reinforced at programme venues and July memorial sites.
