No, the Prime Minister of Bangladesh has not 'fled to France' amid protests in the country

What's being claimed?

Social media users have alleged that Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has left the country amid ongoing anti-government protests. The narrative emerged after a now-retracted news report by India Today North East, published on July 21, 2024, claiming that Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was "airlifted" amid violent clashes in Dhaka. The Bangladesh High Commission refuted India Today's report, which was retracted. India Today later issued an apology, Dhaka Tribune reports.

Following this, social media posts like one on X (formerly Twitter), which is archived here, shared an image of Sheikh Hasina with captions stating, "The Prime Minister of Bangladesh has gone missing. There is news that she has gone to France to take refuge, but the protesters have said that they will not stop going there". The post had 24,000 views and 349 likes. The same narrative was shared on Facebook, archives of which can be found here and here.

Screenshots of the viral narrative shared online. (Source: X/Facebook/Modified by Logically Facts)

However, the claim is false. Evidence shows that Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is in Bangladesh.

What did we find?

We looked for reports of Hasina's recent activities. The news agency Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha led us to a report that Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina visited Bangladesh Television (BTV) Bhaban at Rampura on July 26, 2024. The report published images of Hasina visiting the BTV Bhaban (archived here). YouTube channel Jamuna TV (archived here) uploaded videos of Hasina's visit to BTV Bhaban on July 26, 2024. It was titled "Prime Minister tearful after seeing the devastation in BTV visit Prime Minister BTV | Jamuna TV."

Additionally, we found a Dhaka Tribune report published on July 25, 2024, about Hasina Sheikh's visit to the metro rail station at Mirpur-10 in Dhaka to see the damage caused during the students' protest demanding quota reforms in government jobs. It published an image of Sheikh Hasina from the metro station visit, attributed to the Prime Minister's Office. 

The Daily Star, a Bangladeshi newspaper, reports that along with the Mirpur-10 metro station, the Kazipara metro station was also damaged. It adds that an investigative committee is drafting the report on the extent of the damage, and after accessing that, metro stations will be reopened.

We found a different image of the Bangladeshi Prime Minister from the same visit shared by the Prime Minister's Office (archived here). It was captioned "[25 July 2024] [Metro Rail Station, Mirpur-10]."  

Screenshot of the image of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. (Source: Bangladesh PMO)

Further, we found that Hasina also addressed the media after visiting the metro station. We found the report published by Prothom Alo, a news outlet in Bangladesh, on July 25, 2024. The report states that Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina asked her fellow citizens for justice. She addressed the media, saying, "People of the country have to judge them. I want justice from the people. I have no words to describe the devastation. (Translated from Bangla)."

We found a press conference video uploaded on SOMOY TV, a Bangladesh TV channel (archive here), on July 25, 2024. The title reads, "Will I ride the metro rail or will the government ride, asked Prime Minister PM Sheikh Hasina | Somoy TV" (Translated from Bangla). 

We contacted Ameer Shakir, Editor at Boom Bangladesh, a fact-checking website based in Bangladesh, who told Logically Facts that Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was present in the Mirpur-10, Dhaka, on July 25, 2024. Neither the Bangladeshi government nor any officials have made a statement about Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's travel to France.

Why have there been protests in Bangladesh?

Students have been staging protests against the Bangladesh government over the introduction of a quota system for government jobs. The rules state that 30 percent of the government jobs will be reserved for the family members of the veterans who fought in 1971 War of Independence against Pakistan. The clashes between police and students broke out on July 15, 2024, at Dhaka University, which soon spiraled into violence, AP News reports. Many buildings and government properties were vandalized during the protests, and at least 200 deaths have been reported.

The verdict

Bangladesh media outlets have published visuals of Sheikh Hasina visiting locations in the country, confirming that she is still there. A Bangladeshi journalist also confirmed that the Prime Minister is in Bangladesh, monitoring the situation amid the student protests. There are no reports to corroborate that she has "fled" to France. Therefore, we have marked this claim as false.