The body of expatriate July activist Abdul Hamid was buried with state honors in his family grave in Chattogram on Friday, 18 days after his death.

His remains arrived at Chattogram’s Shah Amanat International Airport this morning on a Bangladesh Biman flight, where relatives wept openly upon receiving him.

The body was later handed over to the family in the presence of a magistrate and government officials.

Last year, numerous expatriate Bangladeshis took to the streets in the UAE in solidarity with the anti-fascist July movement. Dubai police later arrested 57 Bangladeshis for their participation, who were eventually released with the intervention of senior advisor Professor Muhammad Yunus after the post-uprising period.

Shortly after his release, Abdul Hamid returned to Dubai for work, where immigration police re-arrested him at the airport on previous charges. He died in custody on September 22, and his body returned to Bangladesh after 18 days.

At Shah Amanat International Airport, the body was received with state protocol and transported to his native village in Noapara Union, Rouzan. The funeral prayer was held at the family mosque in Rouzan after Friday prayers, followed by burial with full state honors.

The funeral was attended by Rouzan Upazila Executive Officer Zisan Bin Majed, Assistant Commissioner (Land) Anching Marma, Rouzan Police Officer-in-Charge Monirul Islam Bhuiya, Noapara High School headmaster Habib Master, leaders and activists of the July Revolutionary Alliance and July movement, expatriate July activists returning from Dubai, local dignitaries, and a large number of residents.

Zisan Bin Majed said the government would provide initial assistance of BDT 35,000 to the family, followed by BDT 300,000, as confirmed by officials of the Ministry of Expatriates’ Welfare.

The Rouzan Upazila administration pledged full support, and both the government and Ministry of Expatriates’ Welfare announced additional grants for the family.