Dhaka
\nThe chief justice of Bangladesh\u2019s top court has said he agreed \u201cin principle\u201d to resign after an ultimatum from protesters, days after Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina fled to neighbouring India.
\nObaidul Hassan, who was appointed to helm the Supreme Court last year and is seen as a loyalist to Hasina, was told to step down on Saturday by protesters who gathered outside the court in the capital, Dhaka.
\nAl Jazeera\u2019s Tanvir Chowdhury, reporting from Dhaka, said students decided to take to the streets when they heard reports that Hassan was holding a meeting with justices of the Appellate Division.
\n\u201cThey viewed this as a judicial coup in the making, so they quickly gathered at the Supreme Court and demanded that he immediately resign,\u201d Chowdhury said.
\nA formal letter confirming Hassan\u2019s decision to step down was expected after consultations with President Mohammed Shahabuddin. The students believe the Supreme Court to be highly politicised and want the other seven members to also resign, according to Chowdhury.
\nAwami League party leader Hasina, 76, fled by helicopter to India on Monday. Her government was accused of widespread human rights abuses including the extrajudicial killing of thousands of her political opponents.
\nHassan oversaw a much-criticised war crimes tribunal that ordered the execution of Hasina\u2019s opponents, and his brother was her longtime secretary.
\nCabinet ministers left blindsided by her sudden fall have gone to ground, while several top appointees have been forced out of office, including the national police chief and the central bank governor.
\nOn Friday, the bank\u2019s governor, Abdur Rouf Talukder, resigned from the post, citing personal reasons. Protesters had stormed the central bank\u2019s headquarters amid the political upheaval that led to the end of Hasina\u2019s 15-year rule.
\nMuhammad Yunus, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006 for his pioneering work in microfinance credited with helping millions of Bangladeshis out of poverty, is leading a transitional government, another demand by the student leaders. The economist took office on Thursday as \u201cchief adviser\u201d to a caretaker administration comprised of civilians bar one retired brigadier-general. He said he wants to hold elections \u201cwithin a few months\u201d.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Dhaka The chief justice of Bangladesh\u2019s top court has said he agreed \u201cin principle\u201d to resign after an ultimatum from protesters, days after Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina fled to neighbouring India. Obaidul Hassan, who was appointed to helm the Supreme Court last year and is seen as a loyalist to Hasina, was told to step […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":424185,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-424183","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n