Bangladesh Threatens Legal Action After Muhammad Yunus Is Heckled at New York Airport

The government of Bangladesh has threatened to take legal action against those who heckled former interim government chief adviser Muhammad Yunus at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York. Zahed Ur Rahman, the adviser to Prime Minister Tarique Rahman, has warned that similar incidents involving Awami League members abroad would not be tolerated.

A group of protesters confronted Yunus on Monday as he was leaving the airport in a wheelchair, shouting slogans and accusing him of subverting democracy and causing deaths in Bangladesh. On social media, a video of the incident has gone viral. Video of the altercation shows comments made against Yunus, including “You are a terrorist, murderer!” and “Why you came here?” He was also charged by the group with being accountable for thousands of police officer killings.

Yunus said nothing as others with him pushed his wheelchair back inside the terminal and away from the hecklers. At a press conference in Dhaka on Tuesday, Zahed called the incident “Awami League terror” and declared that the government would take legal action against the perpetrators.

He warned Awami League members residing overseas not to engage in such behavior, saying, “It will not go unnoticed.” Zahed stated that the government would take legal action in Yunus’s case as well, citing the case of actress and activist Azmeri Haque Badhon, who was allegedly harassed in Italy last month. The adviser added that because Yunus was the previous leader of the temporary administration, the government will investigate whether there had been any lapses in the protocol and arrangements.

Following the removal of former prime minister Sheikh Hasina in August 2024, there are still political problems. After then, Yunus oversaw the interim administration for around eighteen months before Tarique Rahman’s administration took control. Zahed stated that the government would take legal action in Yunus’s case as well, citing the case of actress and activist Azmeri Haque Badhon, who was allegedly harassed in Italy last month.

The adviser added that because Yunus was the previous leader of the temporary administration, the government will investigate whether there had been any lapses in the protocol and arrangements. Following the removal of former prime minister Sheikh Hasina in August 2024, there are still political problems. After then, Yunus oversaw the interim administration for around eighteen months before Tarique Rahman’s administration took control.

Since then, Hasina’s Awami League has been prohibited from engaging in political activities in Bangladesh, and after a special tribunal in 2025 condemned her to death in absentia, the government has requested her extradition from India.