Tasmia Puspita L&S Social Sciences
State Violence and Legal Accountability in Bangladesh’s 2024 Protests
This project examines how the Bangladeshi government suppressed the July–August 2024 quota movement and why these actions have faced little legal accountability. While existing scholarship documents a long pattern of state violence—including extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances—there is limited analysis of how recent events violate both domestic and international law. My research focuses on specific cases, such as the use of live ammunition against protestors, the detention of minors, and warrantless searches, to evaluate whether these actions breach legal standards Bangladesh has formally agreed to uphold. Drawing on verified open-source evidence, I connect on-the-ground incidents to frameworks like the UN Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms and domestic protections such as the Children Act of 2013. By bridging human rights documentation with legal analysis, this project highlights how governments evade accountability despite treaty commitments. Ultimately, it contributes a structured approach to assessing state violence in underreported contexts and expands conversations about uneven global enforcement of human rights standards.
Message To Sponsor
I am deeply grateful for the opportunity to pursue this research over the summer. As a Bangladeshi American, this project is especially meaningful to me because it connects to my community and lived experience in the Bangladeshi diaspora. I am motivated by how countries like Bangladesh are often overlooked in international human rights and legal discourse, leaving important issues underreported. Thank you for supporting this work and making this research possible.