Bangladesh president resigns, ousted prime minister faces death penalty

Bangladesh president Mohammed Shahabuddin has resigned, citing ill health. His resignation comes days after ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina told Reuters she would return to Bangladesh, where she faces the death penalty for crushing student-led protests in 2024.

Shahabuddin, who became president in 2023 and was one of the few allies of Hasina to remain in office after her government was toppled, signed his resignation letter on Friday. Parliament speaker Hafiz Uddin Ahmad, who will now discharge the duties of the president until a new leader is elected within 90 days, is cutting short his medical visit to Thailand.

Following the ouster of Sheikh Hasina's government in the July mass uprising, many of her allies were removed from key positions. Shahabuddin had previously expressed a desire to leave his presidency, stating he felt "humiliated" by the interim government. The Bangladesh Nationalist Party secured a landslide victory in the general election in February.