Monowara Majlis, the president of the Banani Ward No. 19 Awami Mahila League, fell ill in prison and was denied necessary medical care. When she was eventually taken to the hospital, it was too late.
โSuch appalling and ruthless deaths in custodyโtargeting opposition leaders and activists under the occupying Yunus administrationโare without precedent. I pray for her departed soul and extend my heartfelt condolences to her grieving family,โ Awami League executive committee member and former state minister Mohammad Ali Arafat said on Thursday.
Monowara is the fourth Awami League leader to have died in prison in November and the 35th since August last year, as part of the Jamaat-controlled interim administration’s plan to destroy the party.
In a tragic escalation of Bangladeshโs ongoing crisis of custodial deaths, Tariq Rifat, a 50-year-old prominent Awami League leader from Gaibandha district, died in prison custody on November 23, just hours after being remanded following a rearrest.
Jafar Hawlader, 55, the former Chairman of Borbighai Union Parishad and General Secretary of Patuakhali Sadar Awami League, was arrested on November 12. He was beaten during transfer to Patuakhali District Jail. He collapsed in his cell on November 17 from respiratory distress linked to untreated injuries. Rushed to Patuakhali Medical College Hospital, he died at 2:18pm after delayed care.
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Murad Hossain, 68, a 1971 Liberation War veteran from Sector 2 and former ward councillor in Dhaka North City Corporation, was arrested in October 2025 on fabricated โsabotageโ charges from July 2024 protests (alibi: attending a family wedding); he was held in Kashimpur High Security Jail 1โa known torture site.
Chronic kidney issues worsened by poor rations and confiscated medications led to respiratory failure on November 18. Initial jail aid failed; transfer to Gazipurโs Tajuddin Ahmed Hospital was ordered, but a two-hour ambulance โbreakdownโ delayed him. Pronounced dead on arrival at Dhaka Medical College Hospital around noon, an autopsy revealed untreated fractures from โfalls.โ Jail Superintendent Mamun Rashid blamed โvarious diseases,โ omitting care denial. As a freedom fighter, his death revives 1971 traumas, with Awami League youth vowing an โuprising.โ
Insiders link these to an alleged โYunus Directiveโ to expedite high-profile detentions before the February 2026 elections, decapitating Awami League leadership through slow poisoning and torture.
Meanwhile, the party said in October that at least 528 members and supporters have been brutally killed since the Jamaat-BNP terrorists unleashed mob violence in July 2024 to unseat the government and capture power.
The party has prepared a preliminary list to identify the victims. Date, place, cause of death, and personal information have been added to the list. Among them, 26 were killed in July 2024, 138 in August, 16 in September, 22 in October, 14 in November, 15 in December, nine in January, 11 in February, 17 in March, 13 in April, 11 in May, ten in June, 11 in July of 2025, four in August, four in September, and one till October 10.
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