Former president Abdul Hamid has returned to Bangladesh after receiving medical treatment in Thailand.
He arrived in Dhaka on a Thai Airways flight (TG 339) around 1:30am on Monday.
Following the flight’s landing and completion of formal procedures, he left Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport at approximately 2:45am.
Group Captain Ragib Samad, executive director of the airport, confirmed the matter to the media.
He said that Abdul Hamid returned as a regular passenger and did not seek any special protocol.
Hamid was brought off the flight in a wheelchair. At the airport, he appeared visibly frail. He was wearing a mask along with a shirt and lungi. He was accompanied by his younger son Riyad Ahmed and brother-in-law Dr Naushad Khan.
Earlier, on the night of May 8, around 3am, Hamid had departed for Bangkok on Thai Airways flight TG 340. After news of his departure broke, it triggered a series of political developments in the country. Facing mounting protests, the interim government on May 10 banned all activities of the Awami League until trials against the party and its leaders at the International Crimes Tribunal are concluded.
After the fall of Sheikh Hasina and her party on August 5 last year amid mass student and public protests, many Awami League leaders fled the country. Abdul Hamid, however, remained in Bangladesh. Nine months later, he left for Bangkok for medical reasons.
Abdul Hamid is reportedly facing a murder case. The case was filed on January 14 at Kishoreganj Sadar police station. Former prime minister Sheikh Hasina, Sheikh Rehana, Sajeeb Wazed Joy, Saima Wazed Putul, and Obaidul Quader are also named in the same case.
Hamid served as president of Bangladesh for two consecutive terms from 2013 to 2023 during the Awami League's rule.
