Bangladesh’s Chief Justice Obaidul Hassan decides to step down amid protest

DHAKA, Bangladesh

Bangladesh’s Chief Justice Obaidul Hassan said he has decided to resign as students staged a protest outside the Supreme Court on Saturday.

Hassan said that he would meet with President Mohammed Shahabuddin this evening to tender his resignation, two senior lawyers in the Supreme Court told Anadolu.

Earlier, the Supreme Court's full court meeting was canceled after students issued a two-hour ultimatum for the resignation of the chief justice and other Appellate Division judges by noon Saturday.

They threatened to besiege the homes of the judges if the demand was not met.

Asif Mahmud, a leading coordinator of student protests and the youth and sports adviser to the interim government, has also called for the chief justice's resignation.

Weeks of protests since last month led to the end of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's 15-year rule on August 5. Approximately 400 people were killed in the student protests, which initially targeted a government public jobs quota but escalated into anti-government demonstrations.

After Hasina stepped down and fled to India, Bangladesh Army chief Gen. Waker-uz-Zaman announced the formation of a transitional government.

Bangladeshi President Mohammed Shahabuddin dissolved parliament Tuesday, which was elected in January when Hasina became prime minister for a fourth time.

Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus took the oath of office Thursday to lead a 17-member transitional administration in Bangladesh.

The main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party has demanded a national election within three months to hand power to the people’s representatives.