By Bangladesh’s star cricketer Shakib Al Hasan has been named among 156 people accused in the murder of Mohammad Rubel during protests by the Anti-discrimination Student Movement in Dhaka’s Adabor area. Rubel, a garment worker, died on August 7 after being shot during the protests on August 5. The case, filed by Rubel’s father Rafiqul Islam on August 22, also accuses 154 local Awami League leaders, including former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, and another 400-500 unidentified individuals.
According to the case statement, Rubel was participating in peaceful protests demanding quota reforms in government jobs. Following orders from Hasina and other accused, unknown assailants fired at the protesters, fatally wounding Rubel.
Shakib, currently playing for Bangladesh in a Test series against Pakistan in Rawalpindi, is listed as accused number 28 in the FIR. Having won a parliamentary seat under the Awami League banner, Shakib has not returned to Bangladesh since the party leaders, including Sheikh Hasina, fled the country. Bangladesh is now governed by an interim administration led by Nobel Laureate Muhammad Yunus.
Faruque Ahmed, the newly elected president of the Bangladesh Cricket Board, recently stated that they would need to reconsider Shakib’s future if he remains unavailable for training camps at home, as was the case before the ongoing Test series against Pakistan.
