Ex-president Abdul Hamid returns home from Thailand

Former president Abdul Hamid returned to Bangladesh in the early hours of Monday following a month-long hospital visit in Bangkok.

He arrived at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka around 1:30am on a Thai Airways flight (TG-339), confirmed HSIA Executive Director Group Captain SM Ragib Samad.

He was assisted off the flight with a wheelchair at the time.

The former president went to the immigration counter around 1:45am and left the airport for home a few minutes before 3am, Ragib added.

Hamid, who served as the president of Bangladesh for two consecutive terms under the now-deposed Awami League regime, left the country for Bangkok in the early hours of 8 May on Thai Airways flight TG-340 to receive medical treatment.

He was accompanied by his younger son, Riyad Ahmed, and brother-in-law, Dr Naushad Khan.

The departure of the ex-president – accused in a case related to a deadly crackdown during the July 2024 uprising – sparked uproar in the country.

Two police officials were withdrawn and two others suspended for negligence in duty regarding the matter, while the interim government formed committees to look into his departure.

On 14 January, a case was filed with Kishoreganj Sadar Police Station against former prime minister Sheikh Hasina and 123 others, along with 250 unidentified individuals, over allegations of attacking a rally, opening fire, and engaging in terrorist activities during the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement. Abdul Hamid was also named among the accused.