Bangladeshi-origin human rights lawyer and political commentator Mohammed Tasnime Akunjee has announced that he will contest the upcoming UK general election from Bethnal Green and Bow as an independent candidate against Labour’s Rushanara Ali.
“Good people, I’m very excited to announce that I intend to stand in the upcoming UK election… I will be going head to head with Labour’s Rushanara Ali MP,” Akunjee posted on X, formerly Twitter, at midnight on Tuesday.
“I hope we can count on your support.”
He also criticized Ali's "silence" on the plight of the Palestinian people as Israel carries out attacks in the Gaza Strip.
Notably, there was a protest outside the Tower Hamlets Labour office in Bethnal Green, home to a large Bangladeshi community, in November following a House of Commons vote on a ceasefire in Gaza.
It came after Ali failed to vote on the matter, in line with the Labour leadership's stance.
A criminal defence lawyer who specializes in terrorism law, Akunjee came into the spotlight when he began working with Shamima Begum, a British-born woman who had entered Syria to join the Islamic State as a 15-year-old girl.
He is a consultant for Waterfords Solicitors. His profile on its website states: “Tasnime is a criminal defence solicitor working in the field of Terrorism and Terrorism related offending, he has been engaged in this field of work within the context of legal defence from 1999 onwards.”
“In March 2015 he was involved in advising the families of the three schoolgirls (Shamima Begum, Khadiza Sultana and Amira Abase) who left Bethnal Green Academy and travelled from East London to ISIS-controlled Syria. Tasnime has advised individuals and entities in the UK and abroad on their operations and the framework of the laws applicable to them in their activities pertinent to assisting people escaping from conflict zones. He has also advised entities with respect to the provision of humanitarian aid to Syria and Syrian refugees in Jordan and Turkey,” it adds.
Akunjee’s father arrived in the UK from Bangladesh in the 70s. He runs a GP surgery with his two other sons in Haringey, North London, according to media reports.
His opponent, Rushanara Ali, is a British politician serving as the member of parliament for Bethnal Green and Bow since 2010. A member of the Labour Party, she was the first British Bangladeshi elected to parliament.