Dozens of activists of deposed prime minister Sheikh Hasina’s now-disbanded Awami League party were arrested overnight as they staged sporadic street marches to mark the party’s 77th founding anniversary in defiance of a nationwide security ban, authorities said on Tuesday.
Founded on June 23, 1949, when present-day Bangladesh was East Pakistan, the Awami League is the country’s oldest political party and led the nation’s 1971 Liberation War. The party was disbanded by the Muhammad Yunus-led interim government after Hasina’s government was toppled on August 5, 2024, following a violent student-led street protest dubbed the July Uprising. The move was later endorsed by Parliament under the government led by Prime Minister Tarique Rahman.
Through its social media platforms, the Awami League urged supporters to hold digital discussions, hoist party flags, organise processions and conduct poster campaigns to mark the anniversary.
A police headquarters spokesman said 26 activists of the “banned party” were arrested in Dhaka alone, while several others were detained in other places in the country for staging processions or attempting to defy the ban amid heightened security.
“We have foiled their plan so far, and I hope that within the remaining time, they will not be able to bring out a procession, hold a rally or gather anywhere,” Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) Commissioner Mosleh Uddin Ahmed told a media briefing. The DMP, later in a statement, said that legal proceedings against those arrested were underway and operations would continue to maintain public safety and law and order in the capital.
Despite the restrictions, Awami League social media platforms uploaded video clips showing party leaders and activists holding street marches, carrying party flags and banners and chanting slogans. On the eve of the anniversary, Hasina, in a social media post, said, “We were not born to be defeated.” Hasina has been staying in India since her ouster in 2024.
She was sentenced to death in absentia by Bangladesh’s International Crimes Tribunal over charges linked to attempts to suppress the student-led agitation.
