A group of former leaders from the Bangladesh Chhatra League, the student wing of the ousted Awami League, protested in front of the party’s central office on Bangabandhu Avenue in Dhaka on Monday.
They called for the dismissal of all legal cases against Awami League president and ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, warning that if the interim government does not withdraw these cases, they would feel "compelled" to take further action.
Anwar Hossain, a former joint general secretary of Chhatra League, stated, "Injustice is being done through fabricated cases against Bangabandhu`s daughter, Sheikh Hasina. We are here to protest this wrongdoing, and all false charges must be dismissed immediately. If these cases are not dropped, we will escalate our actions."
Hossain also claimed that Sheikh Hasina was "forced to leave the country" on August 5.
Nizam Uddin, former first joint convener of the Jagannath University unit, condemned the government for filing baseless cases against Hasina with the help of its allies, insisting on the withdrawal of these charges.
The protest included other Chhatra League leaders such as former joint general secretary Md Jasim Uddin and former mass education affairs secretary Abu Abbas Bhuiyan.
Since Sheikh Hasina`s government fell on August 5 during a mass uprising, more than a hundred cases have been filed against her, with many involving serious allegations, including murder. Notably, several former ministers and high-ranking police officials have also been named as defendants in these cases.
The International Crimes Tribunal has issued arrest warrants for Hasina and 46 others concerning two allegations of "genocide" related to the crackdown on student protests.
Current Chhatra League leaders reiterated these demands in a press release signed by President Saddam Hussain and General Secretary Sheikh Wali Asif Enan.
