Police in Bangladesh used tear gas and rubber bullets to break up demonstrations by backers of Sheikh Hasina, the deposed prime minister, who want her allowed back into the country. The unrest turned violent in several places, including Gopalganj district, where a police vehicle was set alight after the banned student wing of Hasina’s Awami League clashed with security forces.
The nationwide rallies began a day after Hasina said she had applied for a passport so she could return home from exile in India. The student wing, known as the Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL), is at the centre of the activity. The demonstrations are viewed as the first organised display of strength by her supporters since she was removed in August 2024, following a large uprising against her rule.
Roadblocks, burning vehicles and a fatal bus fire
Traffic was disrupted in parts of the country as protesters tried to block roads with burning tyres. Several passenger vehicles were also set on fire in different areas in the lead-up to the protest.
Also read: Sheikh Hasina seeks new passport in move toward Bangladesh return · Bangladesh prosecutor warns Hasina faces execution if she returns
In Faridpur, early on Tuesday, a 60-year-old bus driver died from smoke inhalation after people set fire to the vehicle. Elsewhere, about 200 protesters briefly halted traffic on the Padma bridge, which spans the Ganges and links the capital Dhaka with the south-west of the country. The bridge is 6.2km (4 miles) long.
Bangladeshi local media reported that dozens of crude bombs had exploded over the past few days in Dhaka and other locations.
Government and BCL leaders respond to the violence
Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed said authorities would not allow efforts to worsen law and order or to create instability through conspiracies launched from across the border in India. “Any attempt to worsen the law-and-order situation or create instability through any conspiracy within the country from across the border (India) will not be allowed to succeed,” he said.
A senior BCL leader, who is now living in exile in a foreign country, rejected the idea that his group’s supporters were behind the violent incidents. He said they had been carried out by unknown troublemakers and added, “We believe in peaceful protests.”
Hasina’s passport request and extradition demand
Hasina fled to neighbouring India two years ago after a mass uprising ended her 15-year rule. She said she wanted to return to Bangladesh in December and asked the Bangladesh High Commission in New Delhi to issue her a passport, despite the death sentence hanging over her.
The Bangladeshi government said it would not provide her with a passport and described her as a terrorist. Humaiun Kobir, the junior foreign affairs minister, called her a fugitive criminal and said Dhaka wanted her handed over under an active extradition treaty with India. “Should we treat her like an ordinary commercial traveller and tell her to come and visit her in-laws’ residence?” Kobir asked.
On Tuesday, a state prosecutor said the verdict would be carried out if she returned, because she had missed the chance to appeal.
Charges, the death sentence and the 2024 death toll
Opposition parties have accused Hasina of jailing political rivals, suppressing dissent and overseeing widespread human rights abuses. She has always denied these charges. The United Nations has estimated that up to 1,400 people were killed during the anti-government protests in 2024, most by gunfire from security forces.
The Awami League was banned soon after she fled, and it was barred from contesting the February general election. Last year, a special Bangladeshi tribunal sentenced her to death in her absence after finding her guilty of crimes against humanity. She has rejected the verdict, calling the trial “biased and politically motivated.”
Awami League leaders allege that hundreds of their supporters have been killed in mob violence over the past two years, and dozens have died in the custody of security forces. Officials in Dhaka reject claims that Awami League supporters are being systematically targeted.
