Printed On 19 Dec 2025
Demonstrators gathered throughout Bangladesh for a second consecutive day demanding justice for Sharif Osman Hadi, a distinguished determine in final yr’s pro-democracy motion who died Thursday in a Singapore hospital after being shot by masked gunmen.
The 32-year-old student leader, an outspoken critic of India, was attacked whereas exiting a mosque in Dhaka final week. As information of his dying unfold, mourning rapidly reworked into public outrage on Friday.
A number of buildings have been vandalised, together with places of work of media organisations perceived as sympathetic to India – the longtime ally of Bangladesh’s just lately overthrown management.
Former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, at present in exile in India, was just lately sentenced to death in absentia over final yr’s lethal crackdown in opposition to a student-led rebellion.
“Individuals have gathered right here demanding the swift arrest of those that killed Hadi,” 20-year-old pupil protester Sajid Al Adeeb informed the AFP information company in Dhaka on Friday. He claimed the perpetrators have been “at present in India”, an allegation New Delhi has not addressed.
“I urge the federal government to take speedy and acceptable steps to arrest these accountable,” he added. “Above all, I would like Hadi’s beliefs to stay on.”
Hundreds joined the demonstrations in Dhaka, carrying nationwide flags and placards whereas chanting calls for for justice. Comparable protests occurred in Gazipur, Sylhet, and Chattogram.
Thursday night time noticed protesters set fireplace to a number of Dhaka buildings, together with the places of work of distinguished newspapers Prothom Alo and the Every day Star. Critics accuse these publications of favouring India, the place former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina sought refuge after fleeing in the course of the 2024 rebellion.
Workers trapped within the Every day Star constructing reported harmful situations. “I can’t breathe any extra… You might be killing me,” reporter Zyma Islam wrote on Fb earlier than firefighters rescued workers.
Prothom Alo’s govt editor Sajjad Sharif condemned the incident as “an assault on freedom of the press, expression, dissent and variety of opinion”.
The interim authorities, led by 85-year-old Nobel Peace Prize laureate Muhammad Yunus, reached out to each newspapers’ editors and denounced the vandalism. Officers urged residents to withstand mob violence perpetrated by “fringe components”.
“It is a important second in our nation’s historical past once we are making a historic democratic transition,” a authorities assertion declared. “We can not and should not permit it to be derailed by these few who thrive on chaos and reject peace.”
The Committee to Shield Journalists known as on authorities to make sure media security and accountability for these accountable.
Protesters had beforehand marched in the direction of the Indian Excessive Fee in Dhaka on Wednesday, reflecting deteriorating relations between the neighbouring nations since Hasina’s authorities collapsed.
Hadi, who led the scholar protest group Inqilab Moncho, had deliberate to run for parliament within the February 2026 nationwide election. Police have launched a manhunt for his killers, releasing pictures of key suspects and providing a reward for data.
Particular prayers have been held in mosques nationwide, and Saturday was designated an official day of mourning for the slain pupil chief.
