All Sheikh Family members abroad safely, many party leaders remain in prison

After the fall of Sheikh Hasina's government, a recording of a phone call between her and former Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC) mayor Sheikh Fazle Noor Taposh spread on social media. The call was made by Taposh, while Sheikh Hasina was on the other end. After greeting Sheikh Hasina, Taposh said, "I wanted to go to Singapore. I was planning to go. May I go?"

In reply, Sheikh Hasina said, "Yes, go. Why wouldn't you go?" They then exchanged a few more words.

Taposh made the call at 8:16 am on 3 August 2024. The conversation indicates that he had gone to the airport to travel to Singapore. However, the immigration authorities stopped him. At that point, he contacted Sheikh Hasina and sought her assistance.

Until the day before Taposh hurriedly attempted to leave the country, several hundred people had been confirmed killed in the student-public movement. The movement had engulfed Dhaka and the rest of the country. The previous day, a huge crowd of university teachers and students, cultural activists, artists, lawyers, development workers, human rights activists, and people from various other professions joined the anti-government protest programme titled "Drohojatra" (March of Defiance) in Dhaka.

3 August 2024 remains as one of the most significant turning points in the history of the July Mass Uprising. That afternoon, at a rally attended by hundreds of thousands of people at the Central Shaheed Minar in the capital, Nahid Islam, one of the coordinators of the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement, announced the One-Point demand for the fall of the government. With this, the quota reform movement was transformed definitively into an anti-government mass movement.

On the same morning, at a darbar (assembly) at Army Headquarters, opposition emerged from within the army to the use of force against people.

Taken together, seeing the government's increasingly fragile position, Taposh, the son of Sheikh Hasina's paternal aunt's cousin, quietly left the country. Before and after Sheikh Hasina's fall, almost all of her close relatives fled the country.

All the important members of the Sheikh family managed to avoid arrest. Yet, during Sheikh Hasina's uninterrupted 15-and-a-half years in power, members of this family had been at the pinnacle of exercising power. Nearly two dozen members of the family, or Sheikh Hasina's relatives, benefited from the government while serving as ministers, members of parliament, or in important party positions.

Among them, only Moin Uddin Abdullah, the son of Sheikh Hasina's paternal cousin Abul Hasanat Abdullah, was arrested in Dhaka in October 2024. However, he was not particularly well known politically. He was engaged in business. According to sources close to him, he had not gone into hiding in any significant way.

The remaining members of Sheikh Hasina's family and relatives left the country before and after the fall of her government. According to information from relevant sources, most of them are currently in India. Photos and videos have appeared on social media at various times showing many of them living in expensive residential buildings in Kolkata.

When Sheikh Hasina resigned and left the country on 5 August 2024, she was accompanied by her younger sister, Sheikh Rehana. Sheikh Rehana was not seen during the student-people movement. Sources affiliated with the Awami League say that she had returned to Dhaka from the United Kingdom two days before the fall of the government. She is a permanent resident of the United Kingdom.

However, during Sheikh Hasina's 15-and-a-half years in power, Sheikh Rehana was seen alongside her at various government programmes and on the then prime minister's state visits. After leaving for India with Sheikh Hasina, Sheikh Rehana has been staying in London and India, according to Awami League leaders. However, she has not appeared in public.

Also with Sheikh Hasina and Sheikh Rehana on 5 August 2024 was Tarique Ahmed Siddique, the former prime minister's defence adviser. He is also Sheikh Rehana's brother-in-law.

Sheikh Hasina's son, Sajeeb Wazed Joy, had already been living in the United States. He was in the United States before the fall of the government. There has also been discussion that he travelled to India and met his mother there.

During Sheikh Hasina's 15-and-a-half years in power, Joy regularly visited Bangladesh and took part in government and non-government programmes. He also served as Sheikh Hasina's information and communication technology adviser.

Sheikh Hasina's daughter, Saima Wazed (Putul), was elected Regional Director for the World Health Organization (WHO) South-East Asia Region in November 2023. The regional office of the organisation is in New Delhi, the capital of India. When Sheikh Hasina's government fell, Saima Wazed was in Delhi.

After the fall of the Awami League government, the WHO placed Saima Wazed on indefinite leave in July last year. However, according to relevant sources, she continues to stay in Delhi.

Sheikh Rehana's son, Radwan Mujib Siddiq (Bobby), oversaw the Centre for Research and Information (CRI), the Awami League's research organisation. During Sheikh Hasina's rule, he spent time both in Bangladesh and abroad. According to relevant sources, he was in Thailand at the time the government fell. His wife is a Finnish citizen.

Ahead of the 10th parliamentary election in 2014, Radwan Mujib Siddiq became involved in political activities in Bangladesh. Before that, he had worked on the Access to Information (a2i) project under the Prime Minister's Office.

Sheikh Rehana's daughter, Tulip Siddiq, is a British citizen. She is a member of the British Parliament. Tulip Siddiq's sister, Azmina Siddiq Ruponti, is also a British citizen. She did not visit Bangladesh very often. Nor was she seen to be involved in politics.

In the controversial "Me and Dummy" election of 2024, eight members of parliament were elected from among Sheikh Hasina and her relatives. Sheikh Hasina's relatives who became MPs included her paternal cousins Sheikh Fazlul Karim Selim and Abul Hasanat Abdullah, her first cousins Sheikh Helal Uddin and Sheikh Salahuddin Jewel, Sheikh Helal's son Sheikh Tonmoy, and her paternal cousins' sons Noor-E-Alam Chowdhury and Mujibur Rahman Chowdhury (Nixon Chowdhury).

Another of Sheikh Hasina's paternal cousins, Abul Khair Abdullah, was the mayor of Barishal City Corporation. Sheikh Fazle Shams Parash, the son of Sheikh Hasina's paternal cousin, served as chairman of the Jubo League. In addition, other relatives held important positions in the Awami League and its associate organisations.

Sheikh Fazlul Karim Selim, a member of the Awami League Presidium and a member of parliament, remained in the country during the student-public movement. After the fall of Sheikh Hasina's government, he went into hiding. According to information from relevant sources, he left for India in September 2024 and is now in Kolkata.

Sheikh Selim's son and Jubo League Joint General Secretary Sheikh Fazle Naeem has also gone to Kolkata. Several leaders of the organisation said that he remains in regular contact with Jubo League leaders and activists in Bangladesh.

Sheikh Selim's other son is Sheikh Fazle Fahim, a former president of the FBCCI. According to Awami League leaders, he left the country before the fall of Sheikh Hasina's government.

Sheikh Fazle Shams Parash, chairman of the Jubo League, is the elder son of the late Sheikh Fazlul Haque Moni. He had returned to Bangladesh from Canada in the week before the fall of the government. He delivered speeches at various programmes aimed at resisting the student-public uprising. On the day the government fell, he was in Dhaka. According to a relevant source, Parash left for Canada via India a few days later. He has since returned to India.

Sheikh Fazlur Rahman Maruf, another of Sheikh Hasina's paternal cousins, was not particularly prominent in politics. It is learned that he is now in Singapore.

Abul Hasanat Abdullah, Sheikh Hasina's paternal cousin, was highly influential. According to relevant sources, he left for India before the fall of Sheikh Hasina's government. He frequently visited the Ajmer Sharif Dargah in Rajasthan, India. One of his daughters lives there. His daughter is married to an Indian citizen.

According to multiple sources, Abul Hasanat Abdullah owns various assets in India, including a restaurant. His son, Ashiq Abdullah, also went to India with him.

Sadiq Abdullah, the elder son of Abul Hasanat Abdullah, is the former mayor of Barishal City Corporation. His father was the president of the Barishal district unit of the Awami League, while Sadiq was the general secretary of the Barishal city unit of the party. Together, the two controlled politics across the entire Barishal region.

Sadiq Abdullah was active in suppressing the student-people movement in Barishal. According to relevant sources, he later left the country, travelling to the United States via India. He holds US citizenship. After the fall of Sheikh Hasina's government, angry protesters set fire to Sadiq Abdullah's house in Barishal.

Abul Khair Abdullah, Sheikh Hasina's paternal cousin, was the mayor of Barishal City Corporation when the Awami League government fell. It is learned that he went to India after the fall of the government.

Sheikh Hasina's two influential first cousins, Sheikh Helal Uddin and Sheikh Salahuddin Jewel, were in the country during the student-people movement. They later went to India. They are reportedly living in an upscale residential complex in the New Town area of Kolkata.

Sheikh Tonmoy, the son of Sheikh Helal, is also in India. Shahana Yasmin Shampa, the wife of Sheikh Salahuddin Jewel, is there with him. Awami League leaders say that Shampa was often seen beside Sheikh Hasina at the Gonobhaban.

Another brother of Sheikh Helal, Sheikh Sohel, was a director of the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB). He controlled tenders for development projects in Khulna. He is currently in hiding. However, Awami League leaders could not confirm where he is.

Noor-E-Alam Chowdhury (Liton Chowdhury), the son of Sheikh Hasina's paternal cousin, served as the Chief Whip of parliament. His brother, Nixon Chowdhury, was a Jubo League leader and an independent member of parliament. Both went into hiding after the fall of Sheikh Hasina. According to relevant sources, they are currently in India.

Party sources in the Awami League said that many members of Sheikh Hasina's family entered India through the Satkhira border. Some also crossed through the Sylhet and Mymensingh borders.

According to the relevant sources, they were able to leave the country by using their political influence, administrative connections and vast financial resources. While Sheikh Hasina's relatives managed to leave the country safely, a large number of party leaders and activists could not. Many leaders and activists within the party have reacted internally over the issue.

After the fall of Sheikh Hasina's government on 5 August 2024, a large number of former Awami League ministers, state ministers, deputy ministers, MPs, and central leaders were arrested in different parts of the country. Among them were nearly three dozen former ministers and state ministers and more than 50 former MPs.

Of them, Engineer Mosharraf Hossain and Dabirul Islam died after being released on bail. Former Water Resources Minister Ramesh Chandra Sen died in Dinajpur District Jail, while former Industries Minister Nurul Majid Mahmud Humayun died while undergoing treatment at Dhaka Medical College Hospital. After the fall of the Awami League government, Matia Chowdhury, a member of the party's Presidium, also died.

Among the central leaders currently in prison are Kazi Zafar Ullah, Md Abdur Razzaque, Muhammad Faruk Khan, Shajahan Khan, Kamrul Islam, Dipu Moni, Ahmed Hossain, and Abdus Sobhan Golap. Also in prison are Sheikh Hasina's adviser Salman F Rahman, former Law Minister Anisul Huq, and former State Minister Zunaid Ahmed Palak.

Political writer and researcher Mohiuddin Ahmed told Prothom Alo that Sheikh Hasina had two favourite things: power and favouritism towards her extended family.

According to him, she had made every possible effort to cling to power. After failing to do so, she helped members of her extended family flee to safety.

Mohiuddin Ahmed further said that the Awami League's uninterrupted 15-and-a-half years in power had turned into family rule. During that period, members of the extended family, some businesspeople and office-holders enjoyed the greatest benefits.

Party workers and supporters were used as cannon fodder, and this could be repeated in the future, he added.