Bangladesh officially bans Hasina-led Awami League

Dhaka/New Delhi: Bangladesh on Monday issued a gazette notification, officially banning all activities of deposed premier Sheikh Hasina’s Awami League party under an overnight revised anti-terrorism law.

“The Home Ministry today issued the gazette notification banning all activities of the Awami League, its all front, associate and brotherly organisations,” Home Adviser Lt Gen (retd.) Jahangir Alam told a media briefing here.

According to the notification, Awami League and its affiliated organisations were banned under the Anti-Terrorism Act 2025 until Bangladesh’s International Crimes Tribunal (ICT-BD) completed the trial of its leaders and activists, said a Home Ministry official.

The official said Section 18 of the revised law empowered the government to declare any “entity” or organisation alongside an individual if they were found involved in terrorism based on reasonable grounds.

The original Anti-Terrorism Act of 2009 did not have the provision of banning the “entity”. The Awami League leaders were charged with committing crimes against humanity over the deaths of hundreds of people during last year’s anti-government protests by a student platform.