Former Bangladeshi Prez Abdul Hamid leaves country

Dhaka, May 8 (IANS) Former Bangladeshi President Abdul Hamid has left the country on Thursday, months after the ouster of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina during the violent July uprising, according to local media reports.

Hamid, an Awami League leader, was the President for two consecutive terms from 2013 to 2023 during the Hasina-led government.

Hamid departed for the Thai capital, Bangkok, on a Thai Airways flight, the leading Bangladeshi daily, The Dhaka Tribune, reported, quoting sources.

After fall of Awami League government, a case was filed against Hamid, along with Sheikh Hasina, her sister Sheikh Rehana, Hasina's son Sajeeb Wazed (Joy), daughter Saima Wazed (Putul) and several others in connection with the attack and firing on a demonstration in Kishoreganj during the countrywide student movement, local media reported.

"We were aware of the case filed in Kishoreganj against him. However, there was no travel ban issued by the court or the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) regarding his departure. Therefore, there was no legal bar to his foreign travel. Moreover, he is physically unwell," said an immigration official speaking to the media when asked why Hamid was allowed to leave the country despite the charges.

Hamid was a member of the Awami League and also served as Speaker of the Ninth Parliament of Bangladesh from 2009 to 2013.

Earlier, many top Awami League leaders fled Bangladesh after the interim government led by Muhammad Yunus assumed power in August last year.

The Yunus-led administration has issued several arrest warrants against the former PM Hasina, her family members, and Awami League supporters.

Analysts reckon the developments as a major political vendetta being pursued by the interim government led by Yunus, as the cases were filed against the former PM and her supporters on frivolous grounds immediately after her ouster in August 2024.

While addressing the Awami League supporters online from India in February, the ousted Prime Minister accused the Yunus-led interim government of turning the nation into an alleged hub of "terrorism" and "lawlessness."

A leading voice in the struggle to restore democracy in the country, Hasina, the daughter of Bangladesh's founder Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, had to flee the country in an ignominious manner and seek refuge in India on August 5.

--IANS

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