Bangladesh Supreme Court judge agrees to resign amid fresh student protests | Protest News

Hundreds of people protested outside the Supreme Court demanding the resignation of Obaidul Hassan, seen as loyal to former Prime Minister Hasina.

Bangladesh’s chief justice said he had agreed “in principle” to resign following an ultimatum from protesters, days after Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina fled to neighbouring India.

Obaidul Hassan, appointed chief justice last year and seen as a Hasina supporter, was ordered to step down on Saturday by protesters who had gathered outside the courthouse in the capital, Dhaka.

Al Jazeera’s Tanvir Chowdhury, reporting from Dhaka, said students decided to take to the streets after hearing reports that Hassan was meeting with Court of Appeal judges.

“They saw it as a judicial coup in the making, so they quickly gathered at the Supreme Court and demanded his immediate resignation,” Chowdhury said.

A formal letter confirming Hassan’s decision to resign was expected after consultations with President Mohammed Shahabuddin. The students believe the Supreme Court is highly politicized and want the other seven members to resign as well, according to Chowdhury.

Awami League leader Hasina, 76, fled to India by helicopter on Monday. Her government has been accused of widespread human rights abuses, including the extrajudicial killing of thousands of her political opponents.

Hassan oversaw a much-criticized war crimes tribunal that ordered the execution of Hasina’s opponents, and his brother long served as its secretary.

Cabinet ministers were caught off guard by her sudden fall and resigned, while several high-ranking officials were forced to resign, including the national police chief and the central bank governor.

On Friday, the bank’s governor, Abdur Rouf Talukder, resigned, citing personal reasons. Protesters had stormed the central bank’s headquarters amid political upheaval that ended Hasina’s 15-year rule.

Muhammad Yunus, who won the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize for his pioneering work in microfinance that lifted millions of Bangladeshis out of poverty, has been named head of a transitional government, another demand by student leaders.

The economist took office Thursday as “chief adviser” to a transitional administration made up of civilians, except for one retired brigadier general. He said he wants to hold elections “within months.”

Yunus appealed for religious unity on Saturday as he embraced the weeping mother of the first student shot dead by police during anti-government protests last month.

“Don’t differentiate based on religion,” he told reporters. “It is our responsibility to build a new Bangladesh.”

Speaking about Abu Sayeed, Yunus said the murdered 25-year-old is now “in every home.”

“We have to do the same, given the way he acted,” he said, paying his respects along with members of the advisory cabinet.

“There are no differences in Bangladesh ruled by Abu Sayeed,” he added.