The International Crimes Tribunal (ICT)-1 on Tuesday scheduled Thursday for framing charges against five individuals accused of killing two people and firing at a student who was left hanging from a building cornice during last year’s July-August mass upsurge in Rampura. The three-member ICT-1 bench, headed by Justice Golam Mortuza Majumder, set the date after hearing submissions from both prosecution and defence.

Chief Prosecutor Mohammad Tajul Islam sought the charges, while state-appointed lawyer Advocate Md Amir Hossain represented the absconding accused. Advocate Sarwar Jahan Nippon appeared for the arrested accused, former assistant sub-inspector (ASI) Chanchal Chandra Sarkar, seeking his acquittal.

Other accused include former dhaka metropolitan police (DMP) commissioner Habibur Rahman, former additional deputy commissioner (ADC) of Khilgaon zone Md Rashedul Islam, former officer-in-charge (OC) of Rampura Thana Md Moshiur Rahman, and former sub-inspector Tariqul Islam Bhuiyan.

According to the case documents, student Amir Hossain fell amid a clash between two groups on July 19 while returning from Jumma prayers. Pursued by police into an under-construction building, Amir jumped from the third floor but was left hanging from a rod as police opened fire. A police official reportedly fired six rounds at his legs before leaving the scene.

Amir was later rescued by a local student and two doctors and taken to a nearby clinic before being shifted to Dhaka Medical College and Hospital (DMCH). He survived the attack, while two others were killed during the incident.

The Chinese embassy in Dhaka has announced changes to the visa application process for Bangladeshi citizens. A notice issued by the embassy on Friday provided detailed instructions to help applicants submit their visa applications more efficiently and conveniently.

Online application

Applicants must complete the online application form via the Chinese Visa Application Service Centre’s website at https://www.visaforchina.cn/, uploading all necessary documents as required.

Waiting for preliminary review

After submission, applicants must wait for the preliminary review results, which can be checked on the Visa Application Service Centre website. If the review indicates “correction needed” or “submit supplementary documents,” applicants must update their applications immediately and resubmit. If the result is “schedule a video interview,” applicants must arrange and attend a personal interview at the embassy at the designated time.

Submitting the passport

If the preliminary review shows “online review completed,” the application has been initially approved. The applicant or their representative must then submit the passport and other required documents, provide biometric information (such as fingerprints), and pay the visa fee at the Visa Application Service Centre. No appointment is required.

The notice specifies exemptions from fingerprinting for applicants under 14 or over 70, those who have provided fingerprints with the same passport in the past five years, individuals unable to provide fingerprints for all ten fingers, and those applying for short-term single- or double-entry visas (stays under 180 days) before December 31. These applicants may authorise others to submit documents on their behalf.

Visa collection

Applicants can collect their visas on the expected date indicated on the pickup form. Typically, visas are ready for collection on the specified date.

Processing time

Preliminary review results are usually provided within one working day of a successful online submission. After passport submission at the Visa Centre, regular processing typically takes four working days, while expedited processing requires three working days.

Agencies assisting applicants are advised to submit any required supplementary documents or corrections within three working days of a preliminary review rejection. After initial approval, passports must be submitted to the Visa Centre within two working days. Once received, the visa is issued within one working day. The embassy has requested applicants using agency services to follow these timelines to avoid delays in travel plans.

The Bangladesh Embassy in Doha has urged its citizens to exercise caution following Israeli attacks in Qatar. In a statement on Tuesday, the embassy advised all Bangladeshi residents in Qatar to avoid going outside unless necessary and to limit movement.

Citizens have also been reminded to comply with Qatari laws and follow government instructions regarding movement. Posting related photos or videos on social media is prohibited under Qatari law. In case of emergency, citizens can contact the embassy hotline at +974 33662000 or email mission.doha@mofa.gov.bd.

Retired USWNT legend Alex Morgan says the NWSL will continue to attract top domestic and international players even under its $3.3M salary cap, which rises to $5.1M by 2030. Speaking ahead of her jersey retirement with the San Diego Wave, Morgan pointed to the league’s competitiveness, improved facilities, and consistent high-level matches as major draws.

Her comments follow Alyssa Thompson’s record move to Chelsea and other big-money transfers abroad, which have fueled debate over whether Europe’s spending power could lure away talent.

Morgan, now a Wave minority owner, acknowledged the growing fees — with multiple $1M+ transfers this year — but said the NWSL’s week-to-week intensity still makes it “the most competitive league in the world.”

The ongoing political and human rights situation in Bangladesh has triggered debate in the British Parliament, with MPs highlighting bans on political parties, corruption allegations against a UK lawmaker, and actions taken by the interim government.

Concerns over democratic norms and human rights

Over the past year, MPs have repeatedly raised concerns about human rights in Bangladesh. In a December 2024 House of Commons session, Labor MP Barry Gardiner and former home secretary Priti Patel warned about rising violence against the Hindu community. Catherine West, minister for the Indo-Pacific, said the UK government is closely monitoring the situation and remains in contact with the administration of Chief Adviser Dr Muhammad Yunus to ensure minority protection.

On July 15, MP Bob Blackman and the Bangladesh Unity Forum hosted a parliamentary event highlighting Bangladesh’s constitutional crisis. Speakers denounced the use of anti-terror laws against political opponents and described the May 2025 ban on Awami League activities as an unprecedented assault on democracy. A message was also sent to the International Criminal Court (ICC), detailing allegations of arbitrary arrests and extrajudicial killings.

UK’s stance on upcoming election

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) has stressed the need for elections within a set timeframe to restore stability. It said free, fair and participatory polls are vital for a functioning democracy. British MPs have urged the interim government to publish a roadmap and call early elections, while also demanding guarantees of freedom of expression and protection for political dissent.

Corruption allegations and MP’s resignation

Another issue drawing attention was the corruption allegation raised by Bangladesh against British MP Tulip Siddiq, niece of former prime minister Sheikh Hasina. Following Hasina’s ouster, Siddiq was accused of corruption and resigned from the post of economic secretary to the treasury and city minister in January 2025, following allegations of misconduct. She has denied the allegations, calling them politically motivated propaganda.

Withdrawal of controversial report

The All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on the Commonwealth faced criticism over a November 2024 report accused of being biased in favors of Hasina’s ousted government. The report was withdrawn in January 2025. Labor MP Rupa Huq dismissed it as irrelevant and described it as a vicious attack on Bangladesh’s interim government.

Earlier on August 30, Gono Odhikar Parishad activists set the Jatiya Party central office on fire

The Jatiya Party (JaPa) central office in Dhaka’s Bijoynagar was once again targeted on Friday evening, as miscreants vandalized and set fire to the office. Around 7:15pm, stones were thrown at the office. Earlier, at about 6:30pm, leaders and activists of the Gono Odhikar Parishad held a demonstration at Shahbagh intersection, burning tires to demand a ban on JaPa, before marching towards the office at Bijoynagar.

Ramna police station duty officer, Sub-Inspector (SI) Sajjad Hossain, told Bangla Tribune: “Suddenly, a few miscreants launched an attack on the Jatiya Party office. They vandalized some furniture inside and set fire. On receiving the report, police quickly arrived, extinguished the fire, and brought the situation under control.”

Eyewitnesses said that around 5:45pm, a group of people gathered in front of the office, carried out several rounds of attacks, and later attempted arson. A local shopkeeper said: “Suddenly, a few youths came shouting slogans, entered the office, and began vandalizing. I saw smoke rising soon after. They dispersed when police arrived.”

The area remains tense, and this is not the first time the office has faced such attacks. Earlier on August 30, activists of Gono Odhikar Parishad set the Jatiya Party central office on fire.

The Appellate Division of the Supreme Court on Thursday upheld the High Court’s acquittal of BNP acting chair Tarique Rahman and 48 others in the August 21, 2004 grenade attack cases, effectively nullifying the lower court’s conviction of all 49 accused. At least 24 people, including senior Awami League leader Ivy Rahman, were killed and scores, including the then opposition leader and AL president Sheikh Hasina, were injured when grenades were hurled at the AL rally in front of the party central office at Paltan in the capital.

Meanwhile, any activities of the Awami League have been banned until the competition of trials of those involved in the crimes against humanity committed during the July 2024 mass uprising that ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina and she fled to India on August 5, 2024.

On October 10, 2018, Dhaka’s Speedy Trial Tribunal-1 sentenced 19 people, including former state minister for home Lutfozzaman Babar, to death, Tarique Rahman and 18 others to life term imprisonment, and 11 more to various prison terms.

Tarique, along with 15 other accused, was tried in absentia, as he has been living in London since 2008. The Appellate Division also struck down the High Court directive for a further investigation into the attack, in the verdict that such an instruction to the executive branch violated the constitutional principle of separation of powers.

The apex court emphasised that courts should not interfere in matters of government policy, citing the constitutional principle of separation of powers. It also ruled that the HC observation amounted to judicial overreach by stepping into the domain of policymaking. As a result, the apex court ordered that part of the HC judgment to be expunged.

The chief justice, Syed Refaat Ahmed, pronounced the unanimous decision of the six-judge bench in 12 minutes in a crowded courtroom while dismissing the state’s appeal that challenged the High Court verdict delivered on December 1, 2024, acquitting Tarique, Babar, and 47 others of murder and charges related to explosives, citing legal and procedural flaws in the 2018 trial-court judgment.

Five other Appellate Division judges were Justice Md Ashfaqul Islam, Justice Zubayer Rahman Chowdhury, Justice Md Rezaul Haque, Justice SM Emdadul Hoque, and Justice Farah Mahbub. The Appellate Division issued an order in advance asking the jail authorities to immediately release all the acquitted individuals unless they were wanted in other cases.

It also cited serious doubts over the voluntariness of second confessional statements made in 2007 by three accused — Harkat-ul Jihad leader Mufti Hannan, his brother Mohibullah, and Moulana Sharif Shahidul Alam — all within five and a half hours in a single day.

The Appellate Division observed that the prosecution’s case was significantly weakened by the execution of accused Mufti Abdul Hannan before he could be examined under Section 342 of the Code of Criminal Procedure.

Mufti Hannan was executed on April 12, 2017 in connection with the grenade attack on then British high commissioner Anwar Choudhury in Sylhet on May 21, 2004. The attack injured Anwar Choudhury and killed two bystanders and a police officer. The apex court stated that the second-occasion confessions were either extracted under coercion or made under oppressive and unlawful conditions.

As a result, the apex court ruled, the confessions failed to meet the legal standard of reliability and could not be used as credible evidence. This finding played a key role in upholding the HC decision to acquit the accused.

The Appellate Division said that several accused, including Mufti Abdul Hannan, were in a prolonged custody — some in death-row cells — before being presented to magistrates in 2007 for recording the confessional statement. Others were held in police custody for extended periods without proper judicial oversight.

The court highlighted that the 2007 confessional statements by Hannan and three other convicts had been recorded on the same day by a single magistrate in what it called an ‘unusual haste,’ violating procedural safeguards.

It further pointed out that the accused had later retracted their confessions, alleging they were made under duress, including torture and illegal detention by law enforcement agencies. On October 10, 2018, Dhaka’s Speedy Trial Tribunal-1 sentenced the 19 people to death, Tarique and 18 others to life-term imprisonment, and 11 more to varying prison terms.

The High Court acquitted all the convicts and asked the home ministry to initiate a proper investigation by expert and impartial agencies to ensure justice for the victims. The verdict read, ‘This heinous and tragic incident requires a thorough and independent investigation to bring justice to the victims, including Ivy Rahman, the then AL leader, and others who lost their lives. The earlier proceedings failed to deliver fair justice.’

Earlier in 2011, a supplementary charge sheet added 30 new accused, including Tarique Rahman and Lutfozzaman Babar, based on Hannan’s second confession in 2007. This followed a fresh investigation launched in 2009 during the Awami League regime. Sixty-one witnesses testified during the trial. The original charge sheet, submitted in 2007, named 22 accused, including Mufti Hannan, former BNP state minister Abdus Salam Pintu, and Moulana Tajuddin. Altogether, 49 people were tried and convicted.

Two cases — one for the murders and another under the Explosive Substances Act — were filed by the police against unidentified people in connection with the grenade attack.

The HC verdict observed that 30 additional individuals, including Tarique, Babar, former prime minister Khaleda Zia’s political secretary Harris Chowdhury, Jamaat-e-Islami leader Ali Ahsan Muhammad Mujahid, who was executed in a war crime case, and former National Security Intelligence director general Rezzakul Haider Chowdhury, were named in a supplementary charge sheet.

Chief defence counsel SM Shajahan told New Age that it was true that many people were killed in the grenade attack but the trial targeted the wrong individuals to harass them politically as the real perpetrators were not properly identified due to a flawed investigation.

Md Jalal, branded as ‘Joj Miah,’ spent four years in jail after being falsely implicated in the August 21, 2004 grenade attack case. His wrongful detention highlighted flaws in the investigation during the BNP regime. Jalal, hailing from Senbagh, Noakhali, was imprisoned from June 10, 2005 to June 27, 2009. He was exonerated of the murder charges after CID superintendent Fazlul Kabir submitted the first charge sheet on June 9, 2008.

The Election Commission (EC) has finalized the boundaries of 300 constituencies for the upcoming 13th National Parliamentary Election and issued a gazette notification. Senior Secretary of the EC Secretariat, Akhtar Ahmed, announced the move on Thursday evening, saying, “The boundary notification for the 300 parliamentary constituencies has been issued and will be published in the gazette.”

According to the final list, Gazipur has gained one additional seat, increasing its constituencies from five to six, while Bagerhat has lost one, reducing its constituencies from four to three. In Brahmanbaria-3, the constituency now covers Brahmanbaria Sadar Upazila and the unions of Ichapura, Champaknagar, Pattan, Dakhin Singerbil, Paharpur, and Harashpur in Bijoynagar Upazila.

Ahead of the election, a specialized committee reviewed constituency boundaries. On July 30, the EC published a draft that kept 261 constituencies unchanged from the 13th Parliament, with minor changes to 39 constituencies. Citizens had until August 10 to submit objections or suggestions.

The EC received 1,893 responses, including 1,185 objections concerning 84 constituencies across 33 districts, and 708 recommendations. Both supporters and opponents voiced opinions, which the EC first reviewed. From August 24–27, hearings were held over four consecutive days to examine the objections. Following the review, the secretary had said the final list would be published as soon as possible. Click Here to see the 300 seat distribution list.

The Bangladesh ambassador to Washington DC post has been vacant since Asad Alam Siam became foreign secretary

Dhaka: Ambassador Tareq Md Ariful Islam, who served as the permanent representative of Bangladesh to the UN Offices in Geneva, is going to be Bangladesh’s next ambassador to the United States. The post of Bangladesh ambassador to Washington DC has remained vacant for months since Ambassador Asad Alam Siam was appointed foreign secretary.

A senior official at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs told on Wednesday that Ambassador Tareq has moved out of Geneva to Washington DC. Tareq served as Bangladesh envoy to Sri Lanka before his appointment as Bangladesh envoy to the UN offices in Geneva in June 2024, succeeding Ambassador Mohammad Sufiur Rahman in this capacity. Ambassador Tareq, a career diplomat belonging to the 17th batch of the BCS (Foreign Affairs) Cadre, joined the service in 1998.

Prior to taking up the current position in November 2020, he was serving as the Deputy Permanent Representative in the Bangladesh Permanent Mission to the United Nations in New York.

As for his other assignments abroad, he had another stint (from 2005 to 2009) in the New York Permanent Mission as First Secretary initially and at the later part as Counsellor. He then served in the Bangladesh Deputy High Commission in Kolkata, India (2009-2012) as counsellor as well.

At the headquarters, he served as director general (South Asia Wing) and before that in various other capacities, including director (South Asia Wing), director (Foreign Minister’s Office) as well as in the personnel wing and the foreign secretary’s office.

Ambassador Tareq obtained a Master of Diplomacy and Trade degree from the Monash University, Australia and a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering from the Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (Buet).

Brahma Chellaney: The recent violent upheaval that led to a military-backed regime change in Bangladesh, followed by the country’s pleas for $6.5 billion in international bailouts, raise concerns about the future direction of the world’s eighth most-populous country.
The toppling of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s government has also triggered an ominous resurgence of radical Islamism, including systematic attacks on religious minorities.

As recently as 2022, Bangladesh was seen internationally as headed toward rapid economic development. But today, nothing better illustrates the unraveling of Bangladesh’s economic success story than its urgent requests for a new $3 billion International Monetary Fund bailout, as well as $1.5 billion from the World Bank and $1 billion each from the Asian Development Bank and the Japan International Cooperation Agency.

Hasina, while becoming increasingly undemocratic during her over 15-year reign, gave Bangladesh political stability and impressive economic growth, before the global economic fallout from the Ukraine war began weighing on Bangladeshi finances. In fact, the country’s stability and remarkable-growth trajectory stood in stark contrast to the chronic political and economic turmoil in Pakistan, from which Bangladesh seceded in 1971 following a bloody war of liberation that left up to 3 million civilians dead in a genocide perpetrated by the Pakistani army and other pro-Pakistan forces.

Today, the military-picked interim civilian-led regime is struggling to restore the rule of law and revive an economy pummeled by large-scale mob violence and destruction that both preceded and followed Hasina’s overthrow in a youth-led uprising, with her loss of support from the powerful military proving decisive. The military has traditionally been a key player in Bangladeshi politics.

Several hundred people were killed in the violence, many in police firings but also in shootings by Islamists and other rioters, some of whom, according to the new regime, looted rifles from law-enforcement officers and others. Mobs also captured some policemen, beating them to death. At least 44 policemen were killed by mobs, with bodies of some hung from bridges in Dhaka, the nation’s capital.

With the overthrow of the 76-year-old “Iron Lady,” the Islamists have returned with a vengeance, resulting in widespread attacks on the country’s long-persecuted and dwindling Hindu minority.

To make matters worse, political vendettas have gained momentum, as the new regime has engaged in or condoned human rights abuses, including purges, arbitrary arrests, physical assaults on political detainees in courts and curtailment of the rights to liberty and freedom of expression. Academics, journalists, former justices, local officials, lawyers, political opponents and other dissidents have also been jailed on trumped-up murder charges.

In a case last weekend, an ailing, 75-year-old retired Supreme Court justice, after being arrested in a dehumanizing manner, was so badly beaten up in a magistrate’s court, including repeatedly kicked in the groin, that he needed emergency surgery.

All this raises the question whether Bangladesh could go the way of Pakistan, whose broken economy and dysfunctional politics have engendered unending violence, including Islamist extremism and cross-border terrorism. Elections in Pakistan have failed to weaken the vise-like grip of its military on national politics.

Like in Pakistan, the military in Bangladesh has now returned as the final arbiter in national politics, with the army chief becoming the power behind the throne. As if to let the cat out of the bag, M. Sakhawat Hussain, a retired military general holding a minister-level position in the interim regime, warned those pursuing political extortion that he had “requested the army chief to break your legs.” The interim administration, led by an 84-year-old Nobel Peace Prize winner, Muhammad Yunus, lacks constitutional legitimacy.

The Bangladeshi military holds substantial commercial assets in multiple economic sectors, like Pakistan’s armed forces.

Just as Pakistan continues to teeter on the brink of default, the Bangladesh economy is in dire straits, with foreign reserves dwindling rapidly, inflation spiraling, the banking sector in turmoil and economic activity largely at a standstill. It will not be easy to restore the confidence of foreign investors after the large-scale looting, vandalism and arson since July. Many countries’ advisories against travel to Bangladesh remain in effect.

Today, the Islamist resurgence poses a serious law-and-order challenge in Bangladesh, as it has long done in Pakistan. In fact, just as Pakistan’s military maintains cozy alliances with militant groups, the Bangladesh military has had a nexus with radical Islamists.

Hasina’s secular government had cracked down on such violent religious groups. But amid the protests, mobs broke into prisons and freed hundreds of radical Islamists and terrorists, including those wanted in India for terror activity. The attacks on prisons began more than two weeks before the government’s toppling, but gathered pace in the aftermath of Hasina’s forced departure to India. The Hizb ut-Tahrir extremist group, which was proscribed by Hasina and some Western governments, is now operating freely in Bangladesh, holding big rallies.

It was Bangladesh’s chief of the army, Gen. Waker-uz-Zaman, who told the nation in a televised address on Aug. 5 that Hasina had quit and left the country, saying he was “taking full responsibility” and would help to “form an interim government.”

But, instead of a broad-based government of national unity, a partisan administration is now in office that includes two student protest leaders, a hard-line Islamist preacher and three retired military generals. This has contributed to continuing purges, as well as revenge attacks and killings.

Bangladesh is a highly polarized country with a poisonous political culture that, over the decades, has fostered a cycle of frenzied violence and deadly retributions. The recent brutal violence is the latest example.

Without sincere efforts to initiate national reconciliation and healing, the deep splits in Bangladesh will likely stoke greater hate, vengeance and economic disruption, with the risk that the nation could become a mirror image of its old nemesis, Pakistan.