Bangladesh Chief Justice Obaidul Hassan Agrees To Resign Following The Massive Protests

Bangladesh’s Chief Justice Obaidul Hassan decided to resign following hundreds of protesters surrounding the Supreme Court premises in the capital Dhaka and issued a final notice to the CJ and other judges of the Appellate Division to withdraw from the post by 1 pm.

Obaidul Hassan Will Tender His Resignation

The Dhaka Tribune reported that Obaidul Hassan will tender his resignation after consulting President Mohammed Shahabuddin. Hassan revealed the decision on Saturday midday following the high protest around the court premises.

“They viewed this as a judicial coup in the making, so they quickly gathered at the Supreme Court and demanded that he immediately resign,” Chowdhury said.

Hundreds of protesters Demanding Resignation 

Hundreds of protesters, including students and lawyers, started gathering on the Supreme Court premises around 10:30 am, demanding the resignation of the chief justice and the judges of the Appellate Division.

Earlier in the day, Asif Mahmud, adviser to the Youth and Sports Ministry of the Interim Government, took to Facebook to demand the immediate resignation of Chief Justice Obaidul Hassan and the cancellation of the full court meeting. According to The Daily Star, protesters have warned they will besiege judges’ homes if resignations are not made before the deadline.

Postponed The Court Meeting 

The chief justice of Bangladesh postponed the full court meeting of the Supreme Court judges following the massive protests, which was convened to decide whether the function of the court would go on virtually. 

Obaidul Hassan was appointed to lead the Supreme Court last year and is considered a loyalist to the ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. Sheikh Hasina, 76, fled to neighboring India by helicopter on Monday as protests surged through Dhaka, marking a dramatic end to her iron-fisted rule.

The Sheikh Hasina government was accused of widespread human rights abuses including the extrajudicial killing of thousands of her political opponents.

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