‘Won’t go unchallenged’, says PM’s Adviser Zahed after Prof Yunus heckled at JFK airport

Prime Minister’s Adviser Dr Zahed Ur Rahman has vowed tough action against Awami League supporters attempting to harass or intimidate people, following the heckling of former chief adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus at New York’s John F Kennedy International Airport on Tuesday.

Speaking at a press briefing at the Secretariat, Zahed said he was aware of the legal proceedings initiated following the harassment of actress Azmeri Haque Badhon in Italy and that similar action would be taken over the incident involving Yunus.

“I am aware of the legal process that began following the harassment of the actress. So, of course, the same will happen in this case,” he said.

“I want to tell Awami League terrorists living in different parts of the world that if they try to take such actions, they will not go unchallenged. There is absolutely no question of that,” he added.

Yunus was heckled and verbally harassed by a group of men, reportedly Awami League supporters, at JFK airport on Tuesday morning, according to video footage circulating on social media.

Yunus, who was seated in a wheelchair, was accompanied by an associate when two or three men approached and heckled him. One of them, wearing a black jacket and sunglasses, appeared to lead the confrontation.

Bangla Fact, a fact-checking initiative, identified the man in the black jacket as Emdad Chowdhury, general secretary of the New York Metropolitan Awami League. The organisation said it had confirmed his identity by analysing video footage and still images of the incident.

According to a report by Hindustan Times Bangla, one of the protesters claimed they had gone to the airport after learning that Yunus would arrive in New York from Doha around noon.

No official statement from the relevant authorities was immediately available.

The Awami League’s activities are currently banned in Bangladesh.