Bangladesh: Ex-Speaker Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury arrested in Dhaka

Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury, a senior Awami League leader, was arrested in Dhaka over cases linked to 2024 protests. Police said she is under interrogation amid ongoing political crackdown following the fall of Sheikh Hasina government

Dhaka: Bangladeshi police on Tuesday arrested senior Awami League leader and former Parliament Speaker Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury, the country’s first woman to hold the post, according to local media reports.

Confirming the development, Deputy Commissioner of Dhaka Metropolitan Police (Media) NM Nasiruddin said she was taken into custody from her residence in Dhaka’s Dhanmondi early Tuesday morning.

---

Addressing the journalists, Nasiruddin said that Chaudhury is currently undergoing interrogation, and details of subsequent steps will be announced later.

“As far as we know, cases have been filed against her over incidents during the July movement at Banani and Uttara police stations in the capital. There is also a case against her in Rangpur,” Bangladeshi daily Dhaka Tribune quoted the police official.

Citing sources, Dhaka Tribune reported that a case has been lodged against Chaudhury in connection with the fatal shooting of gold worker Muslim Uddin in Rangpur during the July 2024 protests. The murder case filed on August 27, 2024, implicates Chaudhury and 16 others, including former commerce minister Tipu Munshi.

Munshi remains in custody following his arrest in the same case. Chaudhury, a former member of parliament from the Rangpur-6 constituency, became the first female speaker of the parliament when she was elected on April 30, 2013. She went on to serve four consecutive terms, with her latest term as speaker of the 12th National Parliament on January 30, 2024.

Reports suggest that Chaudhury stepped down on September 2, 2024, 27 days after the fall of the Sheikh Hasina-led Awami League government.

This latest incident reflects a continuing pattern of crackdown on Awami League leaders and activists that has persisted since the eighteen-month tenure of the former Muhammad Yunus-led interim government.

Last month, the Awami League expressed grave concern over what it described as ongoing mass arrests and custodial killings of political leaders and activists across the country, saying the actions violate fundamental rights and undermine justice and the rule of law.

The party alleged that the ruling Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) government has followed the path of the former Yunus-led interim government by using state machinery to carry out “repression, torture, and suppression” aimed at silencing dissent and pursuing political vengeance.

“Mass arrests of political leaders and activists, along with deaths in custody, continue to occur. Repeated arrests, indiscriminate remand orders, and reports of custodial deaths are causing pain and anger across the nation,” the Awami League stated.