Chief Justice Obaidul Hassan to Step Down as Protests Rock Bangladesh

Bangladesh’s Chief Justice Obaidul Hassan announced his decision to resign as students protested outside the Supreme Court on Saturday.

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Obaidul Hassan shared his intention to submit his resignation during a meeting with President Mohammed Shahabuddin later in the evening, according to two senior lawyers at the Supreme Court who spoke to Anadolu.

Earlier in the day, a full court meeting of the Supreme Court was abruptly canceled after students issued a two-hour ultimatum demanding the resignation of the chief justice and other Appellate Division judges by noon. The protesters threatened to lay siege to the judges' homes if their demands were not met.

Asif Mahmud, a key organizer of the student protests and the youth and sports adviser to the interim government, also called for the chief justice’s resignation.

The protests, which began last month, culminated in the end of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's 15-year rule on August 5. Initially focused on opposing a government public jobs quota, the demonstrations escalated into broader anti-government protests, resulting in approximately 400 deaths.

Following Hasina’s resignation and her subsequent flight to India, Bangladesh Army chief Gen. Waker-uz-Zaman announced the establishment of a transitional government.

On Tuesday, Bangladeshi President Mohammed Shahabuddin dissolved the parliament, which had been elected in January when Hasina assumed the role of prime minister for the fourth time.

Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus was sworn in on Thursday to lead a 17-member transitional administration in Bangladesh.

The main opposition party, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, has called for a national election within three months to transfer power to elected representatives.

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