Bangladesh outlaws student wing of ousted premier’s party

DHAKA: Bangladesh banned the student wing of ousted premier Sheikh Hasina’s party on Thursday, citing its involvement in violent attacks on demonstrations that toppled the autocratic leader.

Hasina fled the country in August as thousands marched on her official residence, ending a 15-year tenure that saw widespread human rights abuses.

The student wing of her Awami League party was accused of propping up her iron-fisted rule, which saw the mass detention and extrajudicial killings of her political opponents.

A government notice accused the party’s youth wing, known as the Chhatra League, of involvement in “murders, persecution, torture… and many other activities that threaten public security”.

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The statement added that the student group had been outlawed under anti-terrorism laws.

Initially peaceful protests that began in July against Hasina’s government turned violent when Chhatra League activists attacked student demonstrators on university campuses.

The attempt by pro-government cadres to quell the protests instead fanned public anger, culminating in Hasina’s overthrow weeks later.

More than 700 people were killed in the resulting unrest, according to official estimates – most in clashes between police and anti-Hasina protesters.

A Bangladeshi court this month issued an arrest warrant for the exiled leader, who fled to neighbouring India on the day of her overthrow.

Dozens of Hasina’s allies were taken into custody after her regime collapsed, accused of culpability in the police crackdown.

Former cabinet ministers and other senior members of the Awami League have been arrested, and her government’s appointees were purged from courts and the central bank.

Hasina, however, has not been seen in public since fleeing the country by helicopter.

The 77-year-old’s last official whereabouts are a military airbase near India’s capital New Delhi.

Her presence in India – her government’s biggest benefactor – has infuriated the interim administration in Bangladesh that replaced her.

Dhaka has revoked her diplomatic passport, and the countries have a bilateral extradition treaty which would facilitate her return to face criminal trial.

A clause in the treaty, however, says extradition might be refused if the offence is of a “political character”.

Hasina was replaced by Nobel Peace Prize winner Muhammad Yunus, who was sworn in to helm an interim administration days after her departure.

The 84-year-old microfinance pioneer’s temporary administration is facing what he has called the “extremely tough” challenge of restoring democratic institutions.

Yunus has said he inherited a “completely broken down” system of public administration and justice that needs a comprehensive overhaul to prevent a future return to autocracy.