Bangladesh: Awami League leader arrested by police on murder charges

Dhaka, July 3 (IANS) Another Awami League leader has been arrested by the police in Bangladesh on murder charges linked to the July 2024 protests.

The accused, Monir Hossain Mithu Kazi, was taken into custody from Fatullah, Narayanganj, on Wednesday night, as confirmed by the media cell of Chandpur district police, local media reported on Thursday.

The Awami League leader has been charged with the alleged murder of Azad Sarkar in Hajiganj, in Chandpur district, on August 4 last year.

According to a report of Bangladesh's leading daily, Prothom Alo, Sarkar died after being allegedly attacked and injured in front of the municipality in Toragarh area of Hajiganj Municipality.

Following the incident, Sarkar's son and leader of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), Ahmed Kabir, filed a case at Hajiganj Police Station on August 14.

The complaint mentioned 15 leaders and activists of the Awami League and its affiliates and named 25 other unidentified people as accused in connection with the incident.

Reports suggest that earlier, Hajiganj Upazila Awami League President Helaluddin, and leaders of the student wing of the party, including former Municipal Chhatra League President Shukur Alam, Municipal Chhatra League General Secretary Mehedi Hasan and a few others, have been imprisoned over the same case.

In addition, several accused in the case have been granted bail by the High Court of Bangladesh.

In a continuous campaign targeting former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's Awami League, recently, several other leaders of the party were placed under police remand for interrogation.

These incidents add to the intensified crackdown on the Awami League under the Muhammad Yunus-led interim government.

Meanwhile, on Wednesday, the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) of Bangladesh sentenced former Prime Minister Hasina to a six-month prison sentence on charges of contempt of court.

Additionally, Shakil Akanda Bulbul, a leader of the Awami League's student wing Chhatra League, was sentenced to two months in jail in connection with the same case.

The prosecutor filed contempt of court charges against Hasina and the Chhatra League leader based on a viral audio clip leaked on social media that featured the former Prime Minister and allegedly showed her interfering in the judicial process and issuing threats to the tribunal.

Analysts reckon the developments as a major political vendetta being pursued by the interim government, as several cases were filed against Hasina and her supporters on frivolous grounds, immediately after her ouster in August 2024.

The unceremonious exit of Hasina last August was globally seen as a major setback to the democratic set-up in the country.

Additionally, the interim government has also received massive criticism for providing shelter to radical and extremist Islamic outfits.

--IANS

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