‘Indemnity Ordinance’ issued to exempt July fighters of Bangladesh

POBNEWS24 Dhaka Jan 8, 2026 : After the assassination of freedom fighter Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and his family on August 15, 1975, the then military ruler Ziaur Rahman issued the ‘Indemnity Ordinance’ in 1979 to exempt the killers from liability and allowed them to flee the country. In the same vein, the Yunus government is going to issue a similar ordinance for the fighters of the July 24 movement.
The Law Ministry has already prepared a draft of the July fighters’ immunity ordinance. It will soon be presented to the Advisory Council for approval.
This was stated by Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Advisor Dr. Asif Nazrul in a post on his verified Facebook page on Thursday afternoon.
In the post titled ‘Immunity of July Fighters’, the legal advisor wrote, ‘The July Fighters liberated the country from fascist rule by risking their lives. Of course, they have the right to immunity. There is also a need to enact a law granting them immunity for the preventive activities they carried out against the murderers of fascist Sheikh Hasina during the July Uprising.’
He mentioned that the enactment of such a law is completely legal. Such immunity laws have been enacted in various countries after the fall of popular governments during the Arab Spring or in contemporary times, revolutions (or mass uprisings). Article 46 of the Constitution of Bangladesh provides for the validity of the immunity law, and after the great liberation war in 1973, immunity law was enacted for freedom fighters.’
The legal advisor further wrote, ‘In light of these precedents and laws, the Law Ministry has prepared a draft of the immunity ordinance. InshaAllah, it will be presented for approval in the next advisory board meeting.
Finally, he said, ‘It is our sacred duty to keep July safe.’
It is worth noting that on August 5, 2024, the July fighters deposed former Prime Minister of Bangladesh Sheikh Hasina. Although the ordinance that was made after August 15, 1975, was later canceled by Sheikh Hasina’s government. However, the context of 1975 and the context of 2024 are different. There is no exemption for those who committed murder, disappearance, kidnapping and killing during the 2024 movement, although on Thursday, Dr. Yunus said while receiving the report of the disappearance commission by the CID that there is no forgiveness for those involved in the most heinous activities. Abdullah Kafi Ratan, General Secretary of the Communist Party of Bangladesh, said, ‘I do not understand why the government is going to bring back that ‘Indemnity Ordinance’.