Bangladesh’s new chief justice has been sworn in after his predecessor, considered a loyalist of ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, resigned following demands from protesters, a presidential official said on Sunday.
This is the latest in a series of new appointments to replace old officials, seen as linked to the previous government, who were removed in the wake of the student-led uprising.
Presidential press secretary Shiplu Zaman told AFP that senior-most High Court judge Syed Refaat Ahmed was administered the oath of office by President Mohammad Shahabuddin.
“He became the 25th Chief Justice of Bangladesh,” Zaman said.
Ahmed studied at the University of Dhaka, Oxford and Tufts University in the United States.
Hasina, 76, fled by helicopter to neighbouring India on Monday as protesters took over the streets of Dhaka, bringing a dramatic end to her harsh rule.
His government was accused of widespread human rights abuses, including the extrajudicial killings of thousands of political opponents, during his 15-year rule.
His sudden downfall has forced cabinet ministers to step down, while several top appointments – including the national police chief and the central bank governor – to step down.
Ahmed’s predecessor Obaidul Hasan announced his resignation from the post on Saturday, after hundreds of protesters gathered outside the court demanding him to step down.
Hassan, appointed last year, previously oversaw a highly criticised war crimes tribunal that ordered the executions of Hasina’s opponents, and his brother was a long-time secretary.
Bangladesh’s interim leader, Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, 84, returned from Europe this week to head a transitional administration that faces the huge challenge of ending the chaos and implementing democratic reforms.
Yunus said restoration of law and order was the “first priority” of the caretaker administration.
Yunus received the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006 for his pioneering work in microfinance, credited with helping lift millions of Bangladeshis out of poverty.
He took office on Thursday as “chief adviser” to a caretaker administration that includes civilians except a retired brigadier-general, and has said he wants to hold elections “within a few months”.
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