Bangladesh Protests Killing of Activist

BANGLADESH – Bangladesh protests the killing of a political activist for a second day on Friday Dec. 19, with people blocking roads and setting fire on several buildings.

Protests erupted shortly after Sharif Osman Hadi, 32, died while undergoing treatment in a Singapore hospital on Thursday.

Protesters in Dhaka also damaged the house of the country’s founding President Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.

They are demanding justice for Hadi’s death, who rose to prominence following last year’s mass protests that ended former Prime Minister Sheikh Hassina‘s 15-year rule and forced her to flee to India.

Hadi was shot in the head on Dec. 12 in Dhaka, while returning from an election campaign.

Interim government leader Muhammad Yunus declared a state of mourning on Saturday following Hadi’s death, urging people to be calm and maintain peace.

However, protesters vandalized both the Bengali-language national daily Prothom Alo and the English-language newspaper The Daily Star. Later, firefighters extinguished the flames, while soldiers, police, and political figures assisted in rescuing the newspaper staff.

Following the attacks, the newspapers issued separate notices announcing that their publication had been suspended.

Later, Yunus spoke to newspaper editors, describing the incidents as an “attack on the free press.”

He called on all citizens to “resist all forms of mob violence committed by a few fringe elements.”

His office issued a statement saying: “We strongly and unequivocally condemn all acts of violence, intimidation, arson, and property destruction.”

The shooter and his accomplice in Hadi’s attack fled to India, according to the Bangladeshi national daily Jugantor’s report published on Thursday.

After the attack on Hadi, Bangladeshi police arrested 10 people, but they have yet to officially confirm the suspects’ reported location.