Bangladesh’s chief justice agrees to resign amid renewed student protests – myRepublica

DHAKA, Aug 11 (Reuters) – Bangladesh’s chief justice said he had agreed “in principle” to resign after an ultimatum from protesters, days after Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina fled to neighbouring India.

Obaidul Hassan, who was appointed Supreme Court chief last year and is seen as a Hasina loyalist, was urged to resign on Saturday by protesters who gathered outside the court in the capital, Dhaka.

Al Jazeera’s Tanvir Chowdhury, reporting from Dhaka, said the students decided to take to the streets when they heard reports that Hassan was holding a meeting with judges from the appellate division.

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

An official letter confirming Hassan’s decision to resign was expected after consultation with President Mohammed Shahabuddin. Students believe the Supreme Court is highly politicised and want the other seven members to resign as well, Chowdhury said.

Hasina, 76, leader of the Awami League party, fled by helicopter to India on Monday, where her government is accused of widespread human rights abuses, including extrajudicial killings of thousands of her political opponents.

Hassan oversaw a widely criticized war crimes tribunal that ordered the execution of Hasina’s opponents, and his brother was his longtime secretary.

Cabinet ministers, taken aback by his sudden fall, have stepped down, while several senior officials have been forced to resign, including the national police chief and the central bank governor.