Seven of the Dhaka University students, who protested at excesses of army personnel in August 20–23, 2007 during the military-controlled interim regime, continue to stand in the dock facing charges of emergency rules violation.

The interim government filed 54 cases with the police across the country against more than 80,000 students and teachers in connection with the protests, which flared off the assault of some students by some army men in the Dhaka University playground during a football match between two departments on August 20, 2007.

Two university teachers who went to the place to tackle the situation were also assaulted by army men of the temporary camp housed at the gymnasium. The students then went out on demonstrations demanding withdrawal of the camp from the campus. The police then attacked the demonstrators in which a number of students and teachers, including then acting vice-chancellor, were injured. The student protests later spilled over to other educational institutions including Rajshahi and Chittagong universities.

The government later decided not to continue with 53 of the cases. But it also decided to continue with proceedings against the seven of the 25 accused in the remaining case filed with the Shahbagh police. Although the government has started withdrawing the cases filed out of political motives to harass people, it is yet to heed the appeal filed by the seven students who sought the case to be withdrawn.

Dhaka University students in such a situation on Thursday began observing the second anniversary of the student protests with programmes spanning three days. The university authorities will observe August 23 as a black day. The students who still face court proceedings are Deen Islam, Deen Islam Angel, Rafiqul Islam Sujan, Zahidul Islam Biplab, Asaduzzaman, Rashedul Habib and Abul Hasan in the case filed in connection with the vandalism of a military vehicle and assault of an army soldier.

The government, when it decided not to continue with the cases amid opposition, decided not to continue with the case against 18 of the accused. Five teachers of the universities of Dhaka and Rajshahi and a number of students, convicted for violation of the Emergency Powers Rules, were also released in January 22–23, 2008 on a presidential clemency although they had not sought any such clemency. Iajuddin Ahmed, who was then the president, suo moto remitted the sentences hours after the pronouncement of the verdicts.

A Dhaka court on August 4, 2009 overturned the trial court verdict that had sentenced three Dhaka University teachers — former Dhaka University Teachers’ Association president Sadrul Amin, now arts dean, and the general secretary Anwar Hossain, also a biochemistry professor, and former social sciences dean Harun-or-Rashid, now pro-vice-chancellor — to imprisonment for two years each as they appealed against the verdict.