Dhaka, Nov 17 (PTI) A tribunal in Bangladesh is set to deliver its verdict on Monday in a case against deposed prime minister Sheikh Hasina, who is being tried in absentia, over alleged crimes against humanity
committed during last year's student-led agitation that led to the fall of her Awami League government.
The International Crimes Tribunal (ICT-BD), which, according to Prosecutor Gazi Monawar Hossain Tamim, is expected to sit at 11:00 am, will also deliver its verdict against Hasina's two aides, former home minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal and former police chief Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun, over the same charges.
Prosecutors have sought the death penalty for the accused.
Hasina, 78, faces multiple charges after being ousted in August 2024 following the mass student-led agitation.
A UN rights office report estimated that up to 1,400 people were killed between July 15 and August 15 during what came to be known as the July Uprising, as her government ordered a sweeping security crackdown.
Hasina, Kamal and Mamun were tried before the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT-BD). The court declared Hasina and Kamal fugitives and conducted the trial against them in absentia.
Mamun faced trial in person but later appeared as an approver.
Seeking the death penalty for Hasina, Chief Prosecutor Mohammad Tajul Islam had described her as the “mastermind and principal architect” of the alleged atrocities during the protests. Her supporters, however, say the charges are politically motivated.
The tribunal completed hearings on October 23 after 28 working days, during which 54 witnesses deposed, describing the state response to the student-led movement that toppled Hasina’s Awami League government on August 5, 2024.
Hasina fled the country on the same day amid spiralling unrest and has since been residing in India. Kamal is also believed to have taken refuge in India.
The interim government led by Muhammad Yunus has sought Hasina’s extradition, but India is yet to respond.
Meanwhile, security has been tightened across Bangladesh ahead of the verdict, with police in the national capital ordered to shoot violent protesters.
Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) Commissioner Sheikh Md Sajjat Ali on Sunday evening issued a shoot-at-sight order against anyone involved in arson attacks, cocktail explosions or attempts to harm police and civilians ahead of the ICT-BD verdict.
The now-disbanded Awami League had announced a two-day shutdown ahead of the verdict.
Army troops, Border Guard Bangladesh personnel and riot police have been deployed around the ICT-BD complex. Streets in the capital appeared largely deserted amid fears of violence.
Hasina, Kamal, and Mamun face five counts, including murder, attempted murder, torture and other inhumane acts. Another charge accuses Hasina of ordering the “extermination” of protesters. She is also accused of making inflammatory remarks and ordering the use of deadly weapons against students.
Additional counts relate to the shooting and killing of six unarmed protesters in Dhaka and the surrounding areas.
In recent interviews with international media and the Indian press, Hasina described the tribunal as a “kangaroo court” run by individuals linked to her political rivals.
In a recent emailed interview to PTI, Hasina said she was prepared to stand trial under international supervision “even at the International Criminal Court” in The Hague, alleging that Yunus avoided such a process because an impartial tribunal would acquit her.
The ICT-BD was formed by the past government to try hardened collaborators of the Pakistani troops during Bangladesh's 1971 Liberation War.
The Yunus administration later amended the law to try the leaders of the previous regime, including Hasina. Most Awami League leaders and key figures of the past government are either jailed or on the run. PTI SCY SCY
