‘On Humanitarian Grounds,’ Student Leader Saddam Granted Bail After Losing Wife and Child

Bagerhat district’s suspended student leader, Jewel Hasan Saddam, who tragically lost both his wife and nine-month-old child, has been granted six months' bail by the High Court on humanitarian grounds. The ruling was made on Monday, January 26, 2026, by a High Court bench consisting of Justice JBM Hasan and Justice Aziz Ahmed Bhuiyan.

Saddam’s legal counsel, Senior Advocate Saeed Ahmed Raja, represented him in the court, and after the hearing, he told reporters, “The court has granted him bail considering the humanitarian aspects of his case.” Saddam, who has been incarcerated in multiple cases, was granted this temporary reprieve due to the immense personal loss he suffered.

Earlier, on January 24, 2026, due to the denial of parole, Saddam was permitted to view the bodies of his deceased wife, Kaniz Surbana Swarnali, and their child, Nazim, briefly at the gates of Jessore Central Jail. With the permission of the prison authorities, he was allowed only five minutes to see them, a gesture that sparked widespread criticism on social media.

The tragic incident occurred on January 23, when the bodies of his wife and child were discovered at their home in Bekhedanga, Bagerhat. Police suspect that Saddam’s wife, Swarnali, after struggling with depression, may have taken her own life after killing their son.
 

Saddam had been in detention since his arrest in August 2024, following the fall of the Awami League government, and has been incarcerated at Jessore Central Jail since then.