The Awami League, the political party of former prime minister Sheikh Hasina, was banned by Bangladesh’s interim government on Saturday while a trial over its suppression of large-scale protests that led to her removal last year is still ongoing.
The United Nations reports that Hasina’s administration initiated a violent campaign to crush the opposition in July 2024, killing up to 1,400 demonstrators.
Due to accusations of crimes against humanity, Hasina has disregarded a Dhaka arrest order and is still living in self-imposed exile in India.
According to government law and justice advisor Asif Nazrul, “it has been decided to ban the activities — including in cyberspace — of the Awami League under the Anti-Terrorism Act until the trial of the Awami League and its leaders ends,” he told reporters.
