Bangladesh's Former Leader Muhammad Yunus Heckled at New York's JFK Airport

What happened at JFK Airport

Muhammad Yunus, the Nobel Peace Prize laureate who headed Bangladesh's interim government until February 2026, was confronted by a group of people at Terminal 8 of John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York on October 13, 2026, according to video footage that circulated widely on social media and was reported by multiple outlets. Yunus, who was seated in a wheelchair, had just arrived in New York.

Footage shows several people surrounding Yunus and shouting phrases including "You are a terrorist," "Why have you come here?" and "Go back," while also accusing him of killing people in Bangladesh and of undermining democracy during his time in office. Those accusations were made by the protesters and have not been independently verified. Yunus was accompanied by Lamiya Morshed, who served as chief coordinator for Sustainable Development Goals in his former administration and is executive director of the Yunus Centre. Security personnel eventually moved him back inside the terminal.

Who Bangladesh's government blames

Bangladesh's foreign ministry said in a statement on October 13 that it suspected the confrontation involved "a group with links to the Awami League," the party led by former prime minister Sheikh Hasina, whose political activities have been banned in Bangladesh. The ministry said the incident had "tarnished the image of Bangladesh and its citizens in the eyes of the international community" and instructed Bangladesh's mission in New York to work with local law enforcement to identify those responsible.

Zahed Ur Rahman, the prime minister's adviser on information and broadcasting, told a press briefing in Dhaka that those responsible would face legal proceedings, saying the matter "will not go unchallenged." State Minister Humayun Kabir said the government would "take it up strongly with the government of the United States." Officials cited the legal steps taken after actress Azmeri Haque Badhon was harassed in Italy the previous month as a precedent for how they intend to proceed.

Reaction inside Bangladesh

The incident drew condemnation across Bangladesh's political spectrum. Jamaat-e-Islami chief Shafiqur Rahman called for swift government action and said Sheikh Hasina, who has been in India since fleeing Bangladesh in August 2024, bore responsibility for inciting supporters abroad. Bangladesh's National Citizen Party also condemned the harassment. Separately, twelve former advisers from Yunus's own interim government issued a joint statement denouncing the confrontation.

From chief adviser to former leader

Yunus, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006 for pioneering microcredit through Grameen Bank, became chief adviser of Bangladesh's interim government on August 8, 2024, after Hasina resigned and left the country amid a mass uprising. He stepped down after a general election was held on February 12, 2026; Tarique Rahman was sworn in as prime minister, with Yunus leaving the chief adviser's residence on February 28, 2026.

This was not the first time Awami League supporters confronted figures from Yunus's circle at JFK. On September 22, 2025, during Yunus's visit to the United Nations General Assembly, Awami League activists threw eggs at Akhtar Hossain, a National Citizen Party leader travelling with the delegation, while calling him a "terrorist." Members of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party and Jamaat-e-Islami who were also in the entourage were not targeted in that incident.

What remains unconfirmed

As of publication, no individual had been officially named by Bangladeshi or U.S. authorities as responsible for the October 13 confrontation, and the specific claims shouted at Yunus about deaths and democratic backsliding have not been substantiated by any investigation. Bangladesh's government has not yet detailed what, if any, legal mechanism it can use to pursue individuals in the United States.