The case centers around the death of a grocery shop owner who was hit by a police bullet last month during a crackdown on student protests.
Bangladesh's former prime minister, Sheikh Hasina, fled the country after weeks of student protestsImage: Peerapon Boonyakiat/SOPA Images/IMAGO
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A court in Bangladesh has opened a murder investigation into ousted ex-premier Sheikh Hasina and six top figures in her administration over the police killing of a man during civil unrest last month.
The case accuses the seven of responsibility for the death of a grocery store owner, who was shot dead on July 19 by police violently suppressing protests.
The Daily Star newspaper reported that the case was brought on behalf of Amir Hamza, a resident of the neighborhood where the shooting happened and a "well-wisher" of the victim.
Hamza's lawyer said that the Dhaka Metropolitan Court had ordered police to accept "the murder case against the accused persons," the first step in a criminal investigation under Bangladeshi law.
Bangladesh: Several dead in student protests over quota system
Hundreds of students have been injured during protests in Dhaka. Students loyal to the government attacked peaceful marchers.
Image: Zabed Hasnain Chowdhury/NurPhoto/IMAGO
Clashes in Dhaka
Hundreds of people in Bangladesh have been injured while demonstrating against a new quota system for coveted government jobs. The violence broke out between rival student groups. Protesters who had taken part in peaceful marches were attacked with stones, sticks and machetes by pro-government activists.
Image: Zabed Hasnain Chowdhury/NurPhoto/IMAGO
Several dead and injured
Bangladesh's Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Wazed and the Supreme Court had called on the protesters to return to the lecture halls. Nevertheless, the violence between the various groups escalated. Shamsur Rahman, head of the clinic at Jahangirnagar University, speaks of more than a hundred injured students in his institution alone. News agency AP reported several fatalities.
Image: Zabed Hasnain Chowdhury/NurPhoto/IMAGO
Brutal violence emanates from pro-government students
A student allegedly loyal to the government is beating a protester with a metal rod. "They attacked us all of a sudden and took us completely by surprise," 26-year-old student Shahinur Shumi told the AFP news agency in hospital.
Image: Zabed Hasnain Chowdhury/NurPhoto/IMAGO
The situation remains tense
The violence has provoked international protest: The US State Department condemns the "violence against peaceful demonstrators." The bone of contention is the introduction of a quota that favors veterans of the 1971 War of Independence for jobs in the civil service.
Image: Zabed Hasnain Chowdhury/NurPhoto/IMAGO
Riot police against quota opponents
A massive police force was deployed to bring the situation at the universities under control. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Hasina defends the quota system: the "freedom fighters" of 1971 had given up dreams for their own lives and therefore "deserve the highest respect," she said at an event in Dhaka.
Image: Zabed Hasnain Chowdhury/NurPhoto/IMAGO
Call for a reform of the quota system
On the Dhaka University campus, female students are protesting for a change, from the quota system to a merit-based system. The protests have been smouldering for some time, but now the violence has suddenly escalated. Student representatives blame student groups close to the government.
Image: Zabed Hasnain Chowdhury/NurPhoto/IMAGO
What happens next?
Despite all the violence, the student protesters remain undeterred: They continue to demand a fairer system for the distribution of posts in the civil service. The government's reaction will be decisive for further developments. Will it seek a constructive dialogue or will it continue to use violence as a means of policy?
Image: Zabed Hasnain Chowdhury/NurPhoto/IMAGO
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Hasina's administration under investigation
The court filing names Hasina's former home minister Asaduzzaman Khan and Obaidul Quader, the general secretary of Hasina's Awami League party. It also lists four top police officers appointed by Hasina's government, who have since vacated their posts.
It was the first case filed against Hasina following a violent uprising that killed about 300 people, many of them college and university students. The ex-premier fled to India on August 5 and has been sheltering in New Delhi.
Bangladesh students demand generational change
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The student-led movement started with demonstrations against quotas in government jobs before spiralling into violent protests to oust Hasina, who has held the post of prime minister for the last 15 years. Hasina's government has been accused of widespread human rights abuses, including the extrajudicial killing of thousands of her political opponents.
According to her son, she plans to return home to Bangladesh when the caretaker government, headed by Nobel Peace laureate Muhammad Yunus, decides on holding elections.
