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Muhammad Yunus
A Bangladesh court on Monday sentenced ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina to five years of imprisonment in a land scam case. Judge Md Rabiul Alam of the Special Judge's Court-4 of Dhaka also handed down a seven-year jail term to Hasina's sister Sheikh Rehana, and a two-year term to her niece, British parliamentarian Tulip Siddiq, in the same case, The Daily Star newspaper reported. This is the fourth verdict involving Hasina in graft cases filed by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC), the report said. The ACC filed six separate cases between January 12 and 14 with its Dhaka Integrated District Office-1 over alleged irregularities in the allocation of plots under the Purbachal New Town project. According to the anti-graft body, Hasina, in collusion with senior Rajuk officials, unlawfully secured six plots, each measuring 10 kathas (7,200 square feet), in the diplomatic zone of Sector 27 of the Purbachal New Town project for herself and her relatives, including her son Sajeeb Wazed
Bangladesh's ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina's Awami League party on Tuesday announced nationwide agitations and "resistance marches" till November 30 in protest against the death sentence handed to the former premier by what it described as an "illegal" tribunal. On November 17, the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT-BD) sentenced 78-year-old Hasina to death along with then home minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal on charges of committing crimes against humanity after a trial held in absentia. Hasina is currently in India, while Kamal is also believed to be hiding in the country. In a post on its official social media account, the Awami League alleged that the tribunal's verdict was part of a political "conspiracy" by the Muhammad Yunus-led interim government to keep Hasina and the party "out of the election" scheduled for February next year. Rejecting the "illegal verdict of the illegal ICT tribunal" and demanding the resignation of Yunus, the party announced protests, ...
Bangladesh's interim government has sent an "official letter" to India seeking the extradition of deposed prime minister Sheikh Hasina after a special tribunal sentenced her to death, a senior adviser said on Sunday. "The letter was sent the day before yesterday," Foreign Affairs Adviser Md Touhid Hossain was quoted as saying by the state-run BSS news agency. He, however, did not provide further details. Citing an official source at the foreign ministry, the agency said that the note verbal (official diplomatic letter) was sent through the Bangladesh High Commission in New Delhi. On Nov 17, the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT-BD) sentenced 78-year-old Hasina to death along with then home minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal on charges of committing crimes against humanity after their trial in absentia. Hasina is currently in India. Kamal is believed to be hiding in India. Hasina's Awami League government was toppled in a student-led violent protest termed as the July Uprising' on Au
Ousted former Bangladesh prime minister Sheikh Hasina has said her return home hinges on the restoration of "participatory democracy", lifting of the ban on the Awami League and the conduct of free, fair and inclusive elections. In an exclusive email interview to PTI from an undisclosed location in India, Hasina also accused the unelected Yunus administration of "endangering ties with India and empowering extremist forces". Contrasting her foreign policy with that of the current interim government, she said the broad and deep relationship between Dhaka and New Delhi should be able to withstand the "foolhardiness of the Yunus interlude. Hasina thanked the Indian government for providing her refuge and said she was immensely grateful to India's government and its people for their kind hospitality. The most important condition for my return to Bangladesh is the same condition that the Bangladeshi people require: a return to participatory democracy. The interim administration must resc
Bangladesh's interim government chief Muhammad Yunus on Wednesday said he feared forces from home and abroad to thwart planned general elections over debarring deposed prime minister Sheikh Hasina's Awami League from contesting. Many forces from inside and outside the country will work to spoil the election. Many powerful forces, not minor ones, will attempt to thwart it. Sudden attacks may come, Yunus's press secretary Shafiqul Alam quoted him as saying at a high-level meeting on election preparedness. Chief Adviser Yunus, he said, told the meeting that the election will be challenging as various types of propaganda will be carried out in a planned manner from inside and outside the country. Yunus said AI-generated images and videos would also circulate online and on social media platforms, stressing immediate action to prevent the spread of such content. We must overcome them (obstacles), 85-year-old Yunus was quoted as saying. His comments coincided with Hasina's interview with
Bangladesh's interim government is "unwavering" in its commitment to hold general elections in February next year, Law Adviser Asif Nazrul has said, according to media reports on Wednesday. "The government is moving forward with all preparations for the election," Nazrul was quoted as saying by the state-run Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha (BSS). "The polls will be held in February, and the government's stance on this remains unwavering," he said after a meeting at the Cabinet Division on Tuesday. The law adviser's comments came amid growing speculation over the elections, following statements by National Citizen Party leaders who dismissed the possibility of polls taking place in February next year without key reforms and the completion of trials initiated by the interim government. Commenting on the issue, Nazrul said that political parties making statements about the timing of the elections is part of the political process. "You have always seen this. Traditionally in Bangladesh, s
Bangladesh's poll body chief on Saturday said general elections would be held in the first week of February 2025 but ensuring it in a free, fair and impartial manner remained a major challenge. Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) AMM Nasir Uddin, however said the exact date would be disclosed two months before the schedule was announced. People have lost confidence in the election system, the Election Commission and the administrative machinery involved in the electoral process, state-run Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha (BSS) quoted Uddin as saying at a function in northwestern Rangpur district. Uddin said his office, however, was working tirelessly to restore this lost trust. The CEC's comments come four days after interim government Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus announced that the polls would be held in February next year. Yunus had made the announcement coinciding with the first anniversary of the ouster of prime minister Sheikh Hasina's Awami League regime on August 5. Uddin feared t
Bangladesh's Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus on Tuesday announced that the next parliamentary election will be held in February next year. Yunus made the comments during a televised address to the nation on the first anniversary of last year's student-led protest movement, dubbed the "July Uprising", that toppled longtime prime minister Sheikh Hasina. "On behalf of the interim government, I will send a letter to the chief election commissioner requesting that the Election Commission hold the national election in February 2026, before the upcoming Ramzan," Yunus said while addressing the nation. The month of Ramzan is set to begin on February 17 or 18 next year. Earlier, general elections in Bangladesh were scheduled for the first half of April next year.
Abdur Rahman Tarif was talking to his sister Meherunnesa over the phone when the voice on the other end of the call suddenly fell silent. In that moment, Tarif knew something bad had happened. He rushed home, dodging the exchange of fire between security forces and protesters on the streets of Dhaka. When he finally arrived, he discovered his parents tending to his bleeding sister. A stray bullet had hit Meherunnesa's chest while she was standing beside the window of her room, Tarif said. She was taken to a hospital where doctors declared her dead. Meherunnesa, 23, was killed on Aug 5 last year, the same day Bangladesh's former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was forced to flee the country in a massive student-led uprising, which ended her 15-year rule. For much of Bangladesh, Hasina's ouster was a moment of joy. Three days later, Nobel Peace Prize laureate Muhammad Yunus took over the country as head of an interim government, promising to restore order and hold a new election after .
At least 14 people have been arrested following clashes in Gopalganj, the hometown of Bangladesh's founder Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, that left four dead and prompted a curfew, according to a media report on Thursday. Four people were killed in clashes over a rally organised by the National Citizen Party (NCP) on Wednesday in Gopalganj, which turned into a virtual battlefield as hundreds of supporters of Rahman's daughter and deposed prime minister Sheikh Hasina clashed with police, ahead of the planned march of the student-led party. According to The Daily Star newspaper, 14 people have been arrested in connection with the clashes. "The joint forces handed over the 14 individuals to us," Abdullah Al Mamun, inspector (investigation) of Gopalganj Sadar Police Station, was quoted as saying by the newspaper. Filing of cases is underway, he added. said. Four extra platoons (nearly 200 soldiers) of the paramilitary Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) were rushed to Gopalganj following the clashe