After protests turned violent late on Thursday, police and paramilitary units increased patrols in Dhaka, aiming specifically at political buildings, media buildings, and cultural institutions. Residents reported high tensions, especially before Friday morning prayers, even though the streets were largely calm on Friday morning.
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The unrest came after Sharif Osman Hadi, a 32-year-old spokesperson for Platform for Revolution, passed away. As Hadi launched his campaign last Friday in Dhaka, he was shot in the head by masked attackers.
He was flown to Singapore for advanced care, where he passed away after six days on life support, first at a nearby hospital.
Hadi was a key figure in the student-led uprising that forced Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to flee the nation last year. Hadi was also known for his outspoken criticism of India, while Inquilab Mancha describes itself as a “revolutionary cultural platform inspired by the spirit of uprising.”
Protesters detained the English-language Daily Star and Prothom Alo, Bangladesh’s largest daily newspaper, on Thursday night. Later, firefighters extinguished the blaze at The Daily Star while ensuring security for journalists trapped inside.
Protesters chanted slogans praising Hadi’s name, promising to keep the demonstrations going, and pleading for swift justice. As more force was used by authorities to avert further violence, several neighborhoods continued to be tense.
Government is under increasing pressure.
Since August 2024, when Hasina, a long-time leader, fled to India after a mass protests, the interim administration has been in place there under the leadership of Nobel Peace Prize laureate Muhammad Yunus.
Hasina’s Awami League is prohibited from participating in the February 12 election, and the government is under increasing pressure for delayed reforms.
In a televised address after Hadi’s passing, Yunus stated that the country’s political and democratic spheres were irreplaceable. He urged calm, urged transparency in the investigation, and warned that violence could threaten the vote’s legitimacy.
The interim administration held special prayers throughout the country and a day of state mourning on Saturday.
Hasina’s violent legacy still exists
Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, Bangladesh’s first president and Hasina’s murdered father, was also targeted twice last year by protesters who tore through his home. Awami League offices were bulldozed in Rajshahi, and several districts’ highways were blocked.
Anti-India sentiment has grown since Hasina’s flight to New Delhi, and violence has also spread to Chittagong, where protesters have attacked the Indian Assistant High Commission.
Hasina was sentenced to death in November by hanging and then guilty of crimes against humanity for ordering a bloody siege against a student-led uprising that ended up killing her.
After weeks of student-led protests against her “autocratic rule,” Hasina fled Bangladesh on August 5, 2024 by helicopter.
Sajjat Hosen Sojal, the mother of 20-year-old student Sajjat Hosen, was shot and burned by the police shortly before Hasina was forced to resign and flee the country, according to Shaina Begum, who told Al Jazeera after the verdict: “I cannot be calm until she is brought back and hanged in this country.”
Source: Aljazeera
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