The battle for Bangladesh: Eye Investigations
The Documentary Podcast
BBC
4.3 • 2.7K Ratings
🗓️ 24 July 2025
⏱️ 26 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
In July 2024 Bangladesh was rocked by protests. They were sparked by anger at widespread corruption, and the reinstatement of a quota system that reserved 30% of civil service jobs for families of war veterans. An estimated 1400 people were killed in the protests which led to Bangladesh’s leader of 15 years, Sheikh Hasina, fleeing the country. After months of painstaking investigation, BBC Eye can now reveal how the police response to the protest unfolded and has verified a leaked audio recording in which Sheikh Hasina is heard authorising her security services to use lethal weapons against the protesters. We follow the story of one young man in particular, struggling to find justice for his 19-year-old brother who was among those killed.
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | Robiel is always on the move. |
| 0:10.8 | In his early 20s, a student with an intense gaze. |
| 0:15.0 | He races through the streets of Dhaka, from police station to courthouse to government |
| 0:20.3 | officers, hardly stopping to eat, |
| 0:23.2 | because Rabiol is on a mission. |
| 0:30.0 | Today, I have come to the commissioner's office. I have come to demand justice for the murder of my brother, |
| 0:36.3 | Imam Hassan Taim, and all the others killed. We have been to demand justice for the murder of my brother, Imam Hassan Taim, and all the others |
| 0:38.8 | killed. |
| 0:39.8 | We have been fighting for justice for months. |
| 0:43.0 | We have been knocking on every door. |
| 0:45.2 | Robill's 19-year-old brother, Taim, was one of over a thousand young people. |
| 0:52.7 | The UN says was shot dead by police, |
| 0:55.8 | during last year's huge anti-government protests. |
| 1:02.2 | But a year on, no one has been prosecuted for his killing. |
| 1:08.9 | My brother was like my twin, always close to me. He shared all his feelings with me. |
| 1:16.6 | He couldn't bear to see others in pain. And I'm not saying this just because he has passed away. |
| 1:23.1 | He truly was an incredibly kind person. He always followed his heart. |
| 1:29.9 | Robial wasn't with his brother when he died, |
| 1:32.7 | but he knows in vivid detail what happened |
| 1:35.5 | because a journalist captured much of it on his mobile phone. |
| 1:45.0 | The police were firing tear gas shells and stun grenades and blank shots to try to disperse |
| 1:51.9 | the crowd. The students scattered in different directions. |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from BBC, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of BBC and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.