Violence Erupts In Bangladesh After Death of Youth Leader

Key points

Thousands of people have taken to the streets of Dhaka following the death of youth leader Sharif Osman Hadi Hadi was a key figure in the 2024 mass uprising that saw the fall of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina He died in a hospital in Singapore on Thursday after being shot by unknown assailants last week Mobs torched the offices of two leading newspapers following the news of Hadi's death

Violent protests erupted across Dhaka and other parts of Bangladesh after the death of prominent activist Sharif Osman Hadi was announced on Thursday evening.

Protesters are demanding the arrest of Hadi's killers.

Hadi died in a Singapore hospital on Thursday. The 32-year-old had been receiving advanced treatment there after being shot in the head on December 12 by masked men.

He was a key figure in the 2024 uprising that ended the autocratic rule of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and sent her fleeing to India.

In a televised address, Muhammad Yunus, head of Bangladesh's interim administration, announced special prayers at mosques on Friday and a half-day of mourning on Saturday. He urged protesters to stay calm.

What do we know about the Bangladesh protests so far?

Groups of protesters stormed the offices of two leading Bangladeshi newspapers, the Bengali-language Prothom Aloi and the English-language Daily Star.

Hadi was an outspoken critic of India, where Hasina remains in self-imposed exile, and protesters accuse the papers of serving Indian interests in the Muslim-majority country.

The crowds set the two newspaper buildings on fire, trapping journalists and other staff inside.

Firefighters rescued several people using ladders, and army contingents were later deployed in front of the buildings amid the protests.

Zyma Islam, a Daily Star reporter, said she was trapped inside the burning building.

"I can't breathe anymore. There's too much smoke. I am inside. You are killing me," she wrote on her Facebook page.

The house of India's deputy ambassador to Bangladesh was also surrounded by hundreds of people who were trying to demonstrate in a sit-in. Police fired tear gas shells to disperse the crowd, according to local news reports.

Meanwhile, demonstrators used a bulldozer to demolish the regional office of Hasina's Awami League in the northern city of Rajshahi, footage from private broadcaster Jamuna TV showed.

Similar protests were reported in the port city of Chattogram and the southern city of Khulna.

Who was Sharif Osman Hadi and why was he shot?

Hadi, a senior leader of the student protest group Inqilab Mancha, was running for a parliament seat in the 2026 national election scheduled for February.

He was shot by masked assailants on a motorbike on December 12 while riding on a rickshaw.

He was airlifted to a hospital in Singapore for treatment at the beginning of this week but died of his injuries on Thursday.

"Despite the best efforts of the doctors..., Mr Hadi succumbed to his injuries," Singapore's foreign affairs ministry said in a statement on Thursday.

It added that it was assisting Bangladeshi authorities with repatriating his body.

Source: DW