DHAKA – On Thursday, Bangladesh witnessed significant disruptions to both educational activities and public transport as former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and the now-defunct Awami League party initiated a nationwide “lockdown.” This protest responds to her impending trial regarding last year’s demonstrations, which resulted in numerous fatalities.

Hasina is facing accusations of committing crimes against humanity tied to her response to a student-led uprising that ultimately ended her 15-year reign in August 2024. Since her exile to India, she has remained absent from public appearances and digital platforms.

In Dhaka, a special tribunal is poised to deliver a verdict concerning Hasina’s charges on Monday, according to chief prosecutor Tajul Islam, who addressed the media on Thursday.

The Awami League, now outlawed, has called upon its followers and the general public to engage in protest activities. Meanwhile, both the current government and those opposing Hasina pledged to thwart these demonstrations.

As a precaution, schools in Dhaka and other major cities transitioned to online learning and assessments. Public transportation faced significant interruptions as authorities intensified security measures throughout the nation on Thursday.

Dhaka has suffered incidents of vandalism this week as usually clogged streets remained mostly empty Thursday.

A fire bomb was thrown at a government office in Gopalganj district, which is Hasina’s ancestral home and a stronghold for her party. An office of Grameen Bank, a small loan institution founded by Bangladesh’s current interim leader, Muhammad Yunus, was torched Wednesday in eastern Bangladesh, local media reported.

Yunus, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate along with Grameen Bank, is expected to address the nation Thursday afternoon, his press office said. Yunus took over as the head of an interim government three days after Hasina’s fall on Aug. 5, 2024, and vowed to punish her.

Explosions of crude bombs and torched vehicles were reported over the past three days in Dhaka and elsewhere, indicating that political chaos will continue in the country, which has a history of political violence.

On Wednesday evening, arson was reported on a train and a bus in Dhaka, and crude bombs went off earlier in the day on the Dhaka University campus.

On Thursday morning, soldiers along with other security agencies were deployed to guard the premises of the special tribunal, which is overseeing a case involving former Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan and former Police Chief Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun.

Al-Mamun is an “approver” in the case, meaning he pleaded guilty and became a state witness against Hasina. Al-Mamun was brought to the tribunal with tight security Thursday while Khan is believed to be in India. Both Hasina and Khan are being tried in absentia. The prosecution has not sought any punishment for Al-Mamun.

Hasina was ousted after weeks of violence that left hundreds dead. The interim government pledged parliamentary elections would be held in February, but Hasina’s Awami League has launched a campaign, mainly on social media, decrying the election if the party is not allowed to participate. The party says thousands of its supporters have been arrested across the country.

Islam, the chief prosecutor, sought the death penalty for Hasina last month, calling her the “mastermind and principal architect” behind crimes against humanity committed during the uprising.

The Awami League has called the tribunal a “kangaroo court.” Hasina has not appointed a lawyer and denounced the appointment of a lawyer by the state to represent her.

Up to 1,400 people may have been killed in the violence, according to a United Nations report in February. The country’s health adviser under the interim government said more than 800 people were killed and about 14,000 were injured.

Hasina disputed the figures and demanded an independent investigation.

Many Indian outlets published interviews with Hasina in recent weeks, all conduced via email. The interviews apparently irked Bangladesh’s current government. Bangladesh’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Wednesday summoned Indian Deputy High Commissioner in Dhaka Pawan Badhe to formally convey its concerns over India allowing “fugitive” Hasina to interact with mainstream Indian media.

Hasina in her interviews accused Yunus of backing Islamists and violating human and political rights, especially of supporters of her banned party. Hasina’s son, Sajeeb Wazed, told The Associated Press on Wednesday that only an inclusive election could stabilize the country.