Bangladesh tense again after Sheikh Hasina gets death penalty, 2 killed in clashes

Bangladesh was on the boil yet again as Awami League supporters clashed with their rivals following the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT)’s death sentence verdict for ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina for crimes against humanity during the students’ uprising last year that toppled her government.

Demonstrators blocked several highways in Dhaka as they led marches and clashed with police, who were deployed on the streets of Dhaka and elsewhere in Bangladesh in anticipation of violence following the ICT verdict. Police had to use batons, sound grenades and tear gas in a bid to disperse the protesters, according to Bangladeshi media.

Videos surfaced on social media showing demonstrators being chased by police with batons and explosions being heard as Dhaka remained tense throughout the day.

Dhanmondi 32 area, where the house of Bangladesh’s founding father and Hasina’s father Sheikh Mujibur Rahman is located, remained tense as protesters attempted to march there and destroy the property, local media reported.

Supporters of the Awami League, which has been banned by the Muhammad Yunus-led interim regime for its role in the 2024 anti-government protests, clashed with their counterparts from Jatiya Chhatra Shakti, an organisation formed with the coordinators of the students’ uprising.

Ahead of the ICT verdict on Monday, the Awami League had called a two-day nationwide bandh to protest against the ruling, which has been described by Hasina as “politically motivated”.

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