The police on Friday detained 26 activists of the Bangladesh Awami League, activities on which remain banned, at places of Dhanmondi in Dhaka on Friday on charge of trying to hold an oath-taking event demanding the return of Sheikh Hasina.

Hasina, the deposed prime minister and the AL president, fled to India on August 5, 2024 in the face of students-led mass uprising.

Dhanmondi police station officer-in-charge Muhammad Saiful Islam said that activists of the Awami League, banned Bangladesh Chhatra League, and Juba League were detained as they were attempting to gather illegally at Dhanmondi.

‘A case is being prepared for filing,’ he said, adding that the police detained them based on intelligence information and were trying to confirm their identities before filing the case.

The police said that the activists were detained from places including the Masjid-Ut-Taqwa, Sobhanbagh Mosque and Dhanmondi 32 Bridge areas.

According to the police, activists from different districts and upazilas gathered in the Dhanmondi area to take an oath seeking the return of AL president and deposed prime minister Sheikh Hasina, who fled Bangladesh for India on August 5 amid a student-led mass uprising.

On October 23, 2024, the interim government banned the BCL under the Anti-Terrorism Act over allegations of its involvement in activities that breached public security during its 15-year regime.

In May 2025, the government banned all activities of the AL until the trial of its leaders and activists over allegations of atrocities committed during the July uprising that led to the ouster of the AL regime on August 5, 2024.

Despite the restrictions, party activists have occasionally managed to bring out flash processions in Dhaka and other parts of the country, followed by police crackdowns and detentions.

Hasina, along with several top AL leaders, is currently facing trial at the International Crimes Tribunal over alleged crimes against humanity linked to the violent suppression of the July uprising that removed her from power.

The arrests came amid a recent interview published by the Hindustan Times in which the ousted prime minister expressed her intention to return to Bangladesh ‘soon’.