The High Court on Thursday refused to entertain anticipatory bail petitions filed by film actor Riaz Uddin Ahamed Siddique, popularly known as Riaz, in two murder cases linked to the July 2024 uprising.

Riaz appeared before the court in person in the morning and sought bail in the cases. A bench comprising Justice KM Zahid Sarwar and Justice Sheikh Abu Taher declined to hear the petitions, stating that anticipatory bail would not be granted in July murder cases, Deputy Attorney General Emdad Hanif told New Age.

Riaz’s lawyer, Motaher Hossain Sazu, said the actor had been accused in two separate murder cases filed with Jatrabari and Shahbagh police stations over killings during the uprising.

The July movement culminated in the ouster of the authoritarian Awami League regime on August 5, 2024.