Former minister arrested in Bangladesh over 2013 protest crackdown deaths

Bangladeshi police have arrested Abdul Latif Siddiqui, a former minister in the government of ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. The arrest is linked to the deaths of dozens of people during the violent suppression of an Islamist rally in 2013.

Siddiqui, who served as the Minister of Textiles and Jute between 2009 and 2014, is one of 41 individuals accused by the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT). The charges relate to the deaths of at least 52 people during and after a demonstration by the Islamist group Hefazat-e-Islam in Dhaka on May 5, 2013, and in the Narayanganj district the following day.

Human Rights Watch reported that at least 58 people, including security force members, died during the two days of unrest. Prosecutors allege that Sheikh Hasina was directly involved in planning the operation and subsequently denied that fatalities occurred. With Siddiqui's arrest, 11 of the accused are now in custody, while the remaining 30, including Hasina, are still at large.

Former Prime Minister Hasina fled to India after a student uprising ended her 15-year rule in August 2024. She has announced plans to return to Bangladesh in December to face charges. Authorities have continued to pursue legal actions against her, including a death sentence in absentia in November 2025 for crimes against humanity related to the 2013 crackdown, during which the United Nations estimates up to 1,400 people may have died.

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We arrested him after receiving an arrest warrant against him in the Hefazat case.