High Court Petition Seeks Ban on Awami League Over Alleged Student Protester Killings

A writ petition has been filed at the High Court seeking to ban the Sheikh Hasina-led Awami League party and cancel its registration. The petition cites alleged involvement in the killing of student protesters in Bangladesh. It also requests extending the interim government led by Muhammad Yunus and renaming institutions associated with Hasina.

A writ petition was filed on Monday at the High Court seeking a ban on the Sheikh Hasina-led Awami League party and the cancellation of its registration, alleging the party's involvement in the killing of student protesters earlier this month.

Arifur Rahman Murad Bhuiyan, executive director of the rights organisation Sarada Society, filed the petition and requested a directive to extend the tenure of the current interim government led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus to a minimum of three years, according to state-run BSS news agency.

The petition also asks to ban the Bangladesh Awami League and to cancel its registration due to the mass killings during the Anti-discrimination Student Movement, reported UNB news agency. Bhuiyan also sought a court order to change the names of institutions named after the deposed prime minister Hasina and to recover Tk 11 lakh crores allegedly laundered abroad. Additionally, the petition requested the transfer of officials appointed on a contractual basis during Awami League's regime, reported the Daily Star newspaper.

The case is expected to be heard on Tuesday. More than 230 people were killed in violent incidents following the fall of the Hasina-led government on August 5, bringing the death toll to over 600 since the student protests began in mid-July.

The petition comes as multiple murder charges have been filed against 76-year-old Hasina, who resigned and fled to India on August 5 following massive student protests against a controversial quota system in government jobs. Hasina served as Bangladesh's prime minister from June 1996 to July 2001 and again from January 2009 to August 2024. The Awami League, founded in 1949, is one of Bangladesh's oldest political parties and played a significant role in the country's independence.

(With inputs from agencies.)