Another Awami League leader, along with 7 others, arrested in Bangladesh

Dhaka, Sep 6 Bangladesh police have arrested former Awami League MP Saddam Hossain Pavel along with seven other leaders and activists affiliated to the party on charges of "planning and financing subversive activities", local media reported.

According to a press release issued by the Dhaka Metropolitan Police's media wing on Friday, former Awami League MP Saddam was taken into custody on Thursday night during a raid in the Capital's Mohammadpur area.

Additionally, the other seven were arrested on the same night during separate raids conducted by the police across Dhaka.

The release further noted that cases have been filed against all those arrested in different police stations on specific charges.

They were reportedly accused of being involved in "organising and destabilising" the country by disrupting law and order and holding sudden processions in different parts of the Capital, the police said.

Citing court sources, Bangladeshi daily The Business Standard reported that a Dhaka court sent Saddam to jail on charges of attempted murder during last year's July demonstrations.

Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Partha Bhadra issued the order after police produced him before the court on Friday.

These latest developments come amid the ongoing crackdown on Awami League leaders and the activists associated with the party, under the Muhammad Yunus-led interim government.

Last month, Bangladesh police arrested another 1,593 Awami League leaders and activists in a nationwide operation, local media reported.

Recently, the Awami League's media cell reported that the country is witnessing an alarming surge in "fake legal cases, mob violence, and political revenge" under the Yunus regime.

The party highlighted a "collapse of the justice system" in Bangladesh amid a "tsunami of fake cases" since the fall of the democratically elected Awami League government led by former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

Analysts reckon the developments as a major political vendetta being pursued by the Yunus regime, as several cases were filed against the former Prime Minister Hasina and her party members on frivolous grounds immediately following her ouster in August 2024.

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