Bangladesh’s interim leader, Muhammad Yunus, has become a controversial figure, increasingly seen as embodying what the students and citizens opposed and sought to prevent during the 2024 uprising. That year, massive protests erupted across the country as students and citizens demanded democratic reforms, civil liberties, and accountability, ultimately leading to the ouster of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and creating a power vacuum that paved the way for an interim government.

On the eve of the July Charter signing—a national reform agreement aimed at restructuring Bangladesh’s political and legal systems following the 2024 uprising—protests erupted again, reflecting widespread discontent among those who had sacrificed for the revolution.

The protesters, including individuals injured in the July Uprising and relatives of those killed, staged a sit-in on Manik Mia Avenue on October 17, 2025. They vowed not to leave until their key demands were included in the national charter: official recognition of the wounded as “July injured heroes,” assurance of social security for them, guarantees of justice and support for the families of those killed, legal safeguards to protect their rights, and incorporation of these provisions into the July National Charter to ensure they were legally binding and enforceable. Protesters declared, “We will not leave until our demands are included in the Charter.”

A press release issued on the same day emphasized, “The long-awaited July Charter is founded on the blood of the thousands of martyrs and wounded fighters of the July Uprising. Any attack on the fighters of that uprising before the signing of this document is not only reprehensible but also a betrayal of the blood of July.”

Despite these protests,

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