Like so many of Sheikh Hasina’s political rivals, Amir Chowdhury was in jail the day that the prime minister fled Bangladesh. Chowdhury, a senior leader in the opposition Bangladesh National party (BNP), had been picked up by police three weeks earlier, in July, as mass protests began to engulf the country and a violent crackdown began in response. It was his third stint in prison since Hasina took power 15 years ago and began a campaign to destroy his party.
This time it was university students, not opposition parties, who started the protests. As their movement gathered momentum and public anger swelled against Hasina, the BNP and other parties also took to the streets, alongside garment workers, farmers, lawyers and intellectuals.
The state hit back at protesters, using beatings, teargas,…