Bangladesh: 244 Awami League leaders, activists arrested for holding flash processions
Dhaka: At least 244 leaders and activists of the Awami League and its affiliated organisations were arrested by Bangladesh police after staging a flash procession in Dhaka, local media reported.
Addressing a press conference, Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) Additional Commissioner (Crime and Operations) SM Nazrul Islam said that 244 leaders and activists of the Awami League and its front organisations were taken into custody during flash processions.
He stated that the arrest took place in Uttara, Farmgate, and Tejgaon areas of Dhaka, adding that they had arrived from several districts, including Mymensingh, Kishoreganj, Gazipur, and Gopalganj.
Nazrul Islam further stated that earlier, in a series of operations, the DMP had arrested over 500 Awami League leaders and activists from various parts of the Capital.
According to the senior police official, these party leaders and activists were allegedly mobilising themselves to disrupt the law-and-order situation ahead of next year’s elections, Bangladesh’s leading Bengali daily Prothom Alo reported.
These latest developments come amid the ongoing crackdown on Awami League leaders, along with the party’s supporters, under the Muhammad Yunus-led interim government.
Last week, several members of Awami League from Dhaka Metropolitan South staged a flash procession in the Beribadh area under Hazaribagh police station in the capital, in support of former Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
Local media reported that dozens of youths took part in the procession carrying banners and chanting various slogans, including ‘Joy Bangla, Joy Bangabandhu’, ‘Sheikh Hasina will come, the highway will shake’, ‘Sheikh Hasina will come, Bangladesh will laugh’.
Confirming the development, Hazaribagh Police Station O C Saiful Islam said, “Our police took immediate action and arrested 11 people during the Awami League’s sudden procession. We are investigating who among them directly participated in the procession and who were caught from the surroundings. After the investigation, legal action will be taken against those against whom evidence is found.”
Recently, the Awami League party accused the Yunus regime of using arbitrary arrests as a weapon to suppress dissent and neutralise political opposition in the country.
Analysts reckon the developments as a major political vendetta being pursued by the Yunus regime, as several cases were filed against Hasina and her party members on frivolous grounds immediately following her ouster in August 2024.