Bangladesh Uprising Leader Hadi Dies After Shooting

Sharif Osman Hadi, a 32-year-old leader in Bangladesh's 2024 pro-democracy uprising and a candidate in upcoming national elections, died on December 18, 2025, in a Singapore hospital after succumbing to injuries from an assassination attempt in Dhaka a week earlier. His death sparked widespread protests across the capital and other cities, including acts of arson that targeted newspaper offices and political sites.

Hadi, a senior figure in the student-led Inqilab Mancha group and an independent candidate for the Dhaka-8 constituency in the February 2026 elections, was shot in the head by masked assailants on a motorbike on December 12 while traveling in a battery-powered rickshaw in central Dhaka's Paltan area. Witnesses reported that the attackers followed him briefly before firing and fleeing the scene. He was initially rushed to Dhaka Medical College Hospital and later transferred to Evercare Hospital as his condition deteriorated. Local doctors noted severe brain stem damage, prompting his airlift to Singapore General Hospital on December 15 for advanced neurosurgical care. Singapore's Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed his death, stating that despite intensive...