The government has officially banned all activities of the Awami League, including its presence in cyberspace.
The decision was made following the approval of amendments to the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) Act, which opened the door for banning the party and its affiliated organisations.
Awami League was ousted from power in August last year through a mass uprising led by students and people. Facing public anger, party chief Sheikh Hasina resigned as Prime Minister and fled to India. Since then, the party's activities have been practically suspended.
Recently, it attempted to resume activities through small, scattered processions but mainly remained active online.
Using platforms like Facebook, YouTube, and X (formerly Twitter), the party continued to issue statements, opinions, and speeches, most of which were operated from outside the country. Party president Sheikh Hasina also regularly shared speeches and statements through these platforms, making its online presence the party’s main communication tool.
With the new government order, the Awami League will now have to stop its digital operations and remove all content from online platforms.
The government can only request Facebook and YouTube authorities to take down such content and block domestic links. However, controlling content from outside the country remains a major challenge.
The interim government took the decision to ban all activities of the party nine months after the July uprising removed Awami League from power.
The decision was taken during an emergency meeting of the Advisory Council on Saturday (May 10) night.
A statement from the Chief Adviser’s Press Wing confirmed the decision.
According to the statement, the council approved the amendment to the ICT Act, allowing the tribunal to punish any political party, affiliate body, or support group involved in international crimes. The council also decided to suspend all activities of the Awami League and its affiliates under the Anti-Terrorism Act until the trial is completed, in order to ensure national security, sovereignty, and protection of July movement activists and ICT witnesses.
A circular regarding the ban will be issued on the next working day. The council also decided to finalise and publish the July Declaration within 30 working days.
Earlier, the Advisory Council approved the ICT Act amendment to bring the Awami League under trial for alleged genocide during the July movement. Later, a gazette was published stating that, under the powers given in Article 93(1) of the Constitution, the President has enacted and issued the International Crimes (Tribunal) (Second Amendment) Ordinance, 2025.
According to the amended law, a "group" includes any political party, or anybody or person associated with or supporting it. If the tribunal finds such a group involved in crimes as described under Section 3(2) of the Act—by committing, aiding, inciting, conspiring, or facilitating such acts—it will have the authority to suspend or ban the organisation, cancel its registration or license, and confiscate its properties.
MSK/
