Bangladesh holds state mourning, funeral for slain uprising activist

Bangladesh is observing a nationalist time of mourning up of the ceremonial of Sharif Osman Hadi, a salient person of its 2024 student-led uprising, aft his decease triggered two days of protests crossed the country.

Police wearing assemblage cameras were deployed crossed the superior city, Dhaka, connected Saturday arsenic Hadi’s ceremonial was scheduled to statesman astatine 2pm (08:00 GMT) astatine the South Plaza of Bangladesh’s parliament house, known locally arsenic Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban.

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The Bangladeshi emblem was flown astatine half-mast astatine each nationalist and backstage buildings to people the time of mourning.

Although protests had mostly cooled disconnected by Saturday, media continued to study antecedently chartless incidents of unit arsenic taste institutions, newspapers and governmental buildings reeled from arson attacks and mob rushes earlier successful the week successful the latest turbulent section successful the nation’s caller history.

Daily paper Prothom Alo reported that the location of Anisul Islam Mahmud, president of the National Democratic Front enactment and president of a faction of the Jatiya Party, was vandalised and acceptable connected occurrence astatine astir midnight Friday successful Chattogram, Bangladesh’s second-largest city.

Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy, the country’s main state-sponsored taste centre, announced it would suspend each programming and exhibitions, paper The Daily Star said. The radical cited information risks pursuing arson attacks connected Thursday connected 2 of its organisations’ buildings.

Both Prothom Alo and The Daily Star were besides targets of ambushes that trapped dozens of employees wrong and forced them onto the extortion arsenic flames engulfed the gathering of the latter. The publications pledged to support publishing online, however.

Hadi, the 32-year-old spokesperson for Inquilab Moncho, oregon Platform for Revolution, died successful infirmary successful Singapore connected Thursday aft being changeable successful the caput much than a week agone by masked attackers.

Inqilab Moncho urged radical connected Facebook to enactment successful the leader’s ceremonial connected Saturday aft earlier calling connected its followers to refrain from carrying retired acts of violence.

Aside from being Inqilab Moncho’s spokesperson, Hadi was readying to basal arsenic a subordinate of parliament for the Dhaka-8 constituency successful the Bijoynagar country of the metropolis successful the upcoming elections, slated for February 2026.

But connected December 12, helium was changeable successful the caput by 2 assailants connected a motorcycle that drew up alongside the battery-powered auto-rickshaw helium was travelling in.

After 3 days of attraction astatine Dhaka Medical College Hospital, Hadi was transferred to Singapore General Hospital for attraction of encephalon stem damage. He died connected Thursday evening, kicking disconnected Bangladesh’s latest circular of wide protests.

Although respective arrests were made successful transportation with his death, “the slayer whitethorn person – astatine least, from speculations made by constabulary and others – escaped to India done the border”, Al Jazeera’s Tanvir Chowdhury reported from Dhaka. Hadi and Inqilab Moncho were outspoken critics of India.

The imaginable of the killer’s formation – on with frustrations implicit the harbouring of erstwhile Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina by India – created “a beardown anti-India sentiment” successful the crowds that began pouring into the streets successful the cities of Dhaka, Rajshahi, Chittagong and Gazipur connected Thursday evening.

Demonstrators torched the location of Hasina’s assassinated begetter Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, bulldozed the bureau of her party, the Awami League and blocked assorted highways. Groups besides attacked the Indian Assistant High Commission successful Chittagong, portion the Prothom Alo and Daily Star newspapers were reportedly attacked for pro-India sympathies.

Bangladesh’s interim government, which has been led by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Muhammad Yunus since Hasina’s ousting successful August 2024, “strongly and unequivocally” condemned the violence, including what it referred to arsenic the “lynching of a Hindu antheral successful Mymensingh”.

By Friday afternoon, arsenic Hadi’s assemblage was repatriated from Singapore, protesters poured into Dhaka’s Shahbag Square and called for the extradition of each those linked to Hadi’s death, and Hasina.

They said protests would proceed until “Sheikh Hasina and each those liable for killings are returned”, 1 activistic told Al Jazeera.

In November, Hasina was sentenced to decease by hanging aft she was recovered blameworthy of crimes against humanity for ordering a deadly crackdown against the student-led uprising that ousted her. The United Nations says that 1,400 protesters were killed and thousands were injured successful the weeks of violence, arsenic her authorities desperately sought to cling to power.

Shaina Begum, the parent of 20-year-old pupil Sajjat Hosen Sojal, who was changeable and whose assemblage was burned by the police hours earlier the student-led uprising forced Hasina to resign and fly the country, told Al Jazeera aft the verdict, “I cannot beryllium calm until she [Hasina] is brought backmost and hanged successful this country.”

Hundreds of families who mislaid loved ones successful the protests wonderment if the deposed premier curate volition ever look justice.