A Bangladeshi student leader was beaten to death on his university campus, seemingly in retaliation for his role in violent clashes with protesters during last month’s uprising that led to the ousting of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
Shamim Ahmed, a prominent member of the student wing of Hasina’s Awami League party, was attacked by unknown assailants at Jahangirnagar University in Dhaka on Wednesday night, according to police officer Abu Bakkar.
Bakkar reported that Ahmed had previously led an assault on student demonstrators during mid-July protests calling for Hasina’s removal. “We rushed him to Gonoshasthaya Hospital, where he later died,” he said.
Hospital staff confirmed to AFP that Ahmed had died from multiple injuries sustained in the attack.
Ahmed is at least the second leader from the Awami League’s student wing to be killed this month. Abdullah Al Masud, another leader, died after being assaulted by a mob in Rajshahi on September 8, following accusations that he helped organize counter-demonstrations against the student-led protests.
Hasina fled the country in early August just before protesters stormed her palace, amid accusations of widespread abuses by her government, including mass detentions and extrajudicial killings of political opponents.
The violent weeks leading up to Hasina’s removal resulted in over 450 fatalities. Since her departure to exile in India, several cabinet ministers and senior members of her party have been arrested, and her government’s appointments have been purged from judicial and financial institutions.
At least 25 journalists perceived as aligned with Hasina’s regime have also been detained since her ousting and the establishment of an interim government led by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Mohammed Yunus.