NCP demands deportation of Awami League activists over Venice attack on Badhan

The National Citizen Party (NCP) has condemned an alleged attack on actress and July Uprising activist Azmeri Haque Badhan and members of her family in Venice, demanding the arrest and deportation of Awami League activists it blamed for the incident.

In a joint statement, the party’s convener and member secretary said Badhan was physically harassed and that a woman and a child accompanying her were also assaulted.

The NCP alleged that activists of the Awami League, whose political activities are currently banned in Bangladesh, carried out the attack and forced Badhan to chant “Joy Bangla, Joy Bangabandhu.”

The party linked the incident to the presence in Venice of Sajeeb Wazed Joy, son of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, claiming that some of those involved in the attack had been photographed with him and had circulated the images on social media.

The NCP did not provide evidence in its statement establishing that Joy directed or encouraged the alleged attack.

It said the incident showed that Awami League activists living abroad were trying to extend Bangladesh’s political violence beyond the country’s borders and target people associated with the July 2024 uprising.

The party argued that the Venice incident also undermined calls for political reconciliation with the Awami League, saying those responsible for violence should instead face legal accountability.

The NCP called on Bangladesh’s Foreign Ministry and diplomatic mission in Italy to work with Italian authorities to identify and arrest those involved.

It also demanded that the suspects’ visas be cancelled and that they be deported to Bangladesh to face legal proceedings.

“Bangladesh embassies, which are run with taxpayers’ money, must play an effective role in ensuring the security of July fighters, expatriate activists and ordinary citizens abroad,” the statement said.

The party warned that the government would face political pressure if it failed to pursue the case through diplomatic and legal channels.

The statement came amid heightened political tensions involving Awami League supporters abroad following the party’s removal from power in the August 2024 uprising and subsequent restrictions on its political activities in Bangladesh.